Meet Me at the Chuppah
by smilinjuss4u
Summary: After dating Lorelai of a while, Luke decides he wants to marry her. Now all they have to do is survive their families and former lovers long enough to make it to their wedding day. Java Junkies mainly w RoryLogan. Complete!
1. Permission Please

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Setup: There isn't really much of a set up. Luke and Lorelai have been dating for a while. Christopher did as Rory asked and stayed away from Lorelai. As for Rory, she and Dean broke up and she's seeing Logan now. No one knows about her new relationship, except for Paris and some of Logan's friends.**

**Chapter 1**

Rory frantically looked through all her stuff for her missing shoe. Why do you always see things when you don't need them and when you do need them, they're no where to be found? Rory sighed. She moved from her room to the living room.

"Paris, have you seen my shoe?" Rory asked.

"Which one?" Paris asked from her room.

"The black one I wore last week to my Friday night dinner with my grandparents. Left foot."

"Did you check your room?"

"It looks like a hurricane hit it."

"What about under the couch?"

Rory got on her knees and looked under the couch. "Nope."

"Your closet?"

"Oh! Never mind. Found it. It was under the coffee table."

"You're weird Gilmore."

"Thank you. Ok, I'm going. Are you getting dinner or am I?"

"I'll order some pizza."

"I'll see you at six then. Oh and if Luke or Mom calls..."

"You went out to work on an assignment."

Rory was on her way to see Logan again. She was doing a good job at keeping it from Luke and her mom. She wasn't ready to tell them about him just yet. They didn't even know she and Dean had broken up, which was odd because they lived in the same town.

"I'll see you later Paris," Rory said as she grabbed her keys and headed for the door. Just as she was about to open the door, someone knocked. _Who could that be?_ she wondered. She opened the door to find Luke on the other side. "Luke?"

"Hey Rory," Luke greeted. "Paris."

"Luke," Paris greeted.

"What's with the nice shirt and tie?" Rory asked.

"I can't wear something nice once and a while?" Luke joked.

"You're Mr. Flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap."

"I've got a meeting."

"You look weird. Not the Luke I've come to love. Hey, how did you get in here? This building is tenants only."

"I paid the guy at the door twenty bucks to let me in."

"That's the Luke I know. Would you like to come in?"

"Yeah, sure. Thank you." Luke stepped inside the dorm. "I didn't interrupting you did I?"

"Of course not."

"You look like you were going to go out."

"I was."

"I'm sorry. I'm stopping you from going out. I'll just come back some other time."

Rory grabbed Luke's arm and stopped him from leaving. "Luke, you paid twenty dollars to get into this building for a reason. Sit down and tell me what's up?"

He took a seat on the couch and Rory sat next to him. "I wanted to ask you something. It is very important that I..." Luke noticed the young woman in the kitchen, listening to their conversation. "Paris, do you mind? I'd like to talk to Rory alone."

"I'm allowed to be here. Not you," Paris said.

Luke pulled out his wallet. "How much to get you to leave?"

"Fifty bucks."

"Fifty bucks?!?" Luke let out a sigh and handed Paris a fifty.

"I'll be back in fifteen minutes."

"Bye Paris," Rory said, trying to contain a laugh. Once the door was shut, Rory turned her attention to Luke again. "You were saying?"

"Oh yeah. Uh, it is very important that I get your approval. Rory, I love your mother very much. She makes me a different man. A better man. With your permission, I would like to ask Lorelai to marry me."

"Really?!?" Rory asked excitedly as she jumped out of her seat.

"Yes really."

"Oh my God!! Yes! Of course yes!!! I can't believe you asked me for my permission to propose to my mother."

"It's important to me that it's ok with you that I do this."

"Of course it is silly! You've been a part of our lives for so long...I'm so happy that you're going to be a part of my family." Tears started to run down Rory's face as she threw her arms around Luke's neck.

"I'm glad you approve." Luke pulled away. "Now, not a word about this to anyone. I still need to get your grandparents' permission."

"Ok. I won't say a word."

"I'll see you later kido."

"Ok. Bye Luke." With that, Luke left. A minute after he was gone, Rory realized something. He wanted Richard and Emily Gilmore's permission. Suddenly, she wasn't so excited. Her grandparents wouldn't approve of this. In an instant, Rory's picture perfect family with her Mom, Luke, and her faded from her imagination.

Luke took a deep breath before ringing the doorbell. Getting away from Stars Hollow without Lorelai suspecting anything was very difficult. He told her he had to pick up some lumber in Hartford. It wasn't a complete lie. He really was picking up lumber. He had worn his usual flannel shirt and baseball cap when he left and changed into some more formal attire when he got to Yale. He wanted desperately to impress and meet the approval of the Gilmores.

"Good afternoon Mr. Danes," the maid greeted.

"Hi," Luke greeted as he entered the mansion.

"Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore are waiting for you in Mr. Gilmore's study."

"Thank you." Luke went to the study where Emily and Richard were waiting for him.

"Hello Luke," Emily greeted.

"Luke, good to see you," Richard said as he stood from behind his desk.

"It's good to see you too Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore," Luke said, shaking Richard's hand.

"Have a seat." Richard sat down again and Luke sat in front of the desk. "Let's get straight to business shall we? To what do we owe the pleasure?"

"I wanted to talk to you two about something very important concerning Lorelai."

"Is everything ok? What happened? Is she alright?" Emily asked frantically.

"Emily, calm down. Let the man explain," Richard said. "Everything is alright with our daughter right Luke?"

"Oh yes sir. Everything is just fine. I came by to see you two because I wanted to ask for your permission to ask for Lorelai's hand and marriage." Luke had been practicing what to say to them for weeks. He didn't want to sound like an idiot in front of them and perhaps he had. Richard and Emily were just staring at him like he had something in a different language.

"You want to marry our daughter?" Emily finally asked.

Despite the tone of the question, Luke was grateful for the break in silence. "Yes ma'am," he replied. "I love Lorelai and she loves me. I know in my heart that this is right and the right way to do this is to get her parents' permission."

"Marriage is a big step Luke," Richard stated. "You'll be providing for you, Lorelai, and Rory. Yes Rory is grown, but you're still expected to help her. And children. If you plan to have children with Lorelai, you'll have to get a bigger place. Living above a diner isn't fit to support a family."

"Can you really provide for a family by working at a diner?" Emily asked.

"Lorelai and I have been discussing moving in together. If and when the time comes, I'll get a couple of guys to help me extend the house's living space. As for the financial issue, I think I can provide for us. Luke's is very successful. I also have money put away and Lorelai's income from the inn combined with mine should be enough to provide for a family," Luke replied.

"What do you plan on proposing with? You have chosen a ring haven't you?"

"I have a ring." Luke pulled a ring out of his pocket and showed it to the Gilmores. "My great grandfather spent every last penny he earned to buy this ring and propose to my great grandmother. He gave it to his eldest son and my grandfather gave it to my grandmother. Then my grandmother gave it to my father to propose to my mother with. For three generations, this ring went to the oldest son of it's carrier so it could be in the Danes family forever. My mother gave me this ring before she died so I could to propose to the woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with. I know in my heart Lorelai is that woman."

Richard inspected the ring. He looked up at Luke and handed back the ring. He sighed and removed his glasses as he stood. "You will treat my daughter with the ut most respect?" he asked, moving around the desk.

"Of course."

"You will provide for her and cherish every moment you have with her?"

"Yes." Luke was beginning to think this was a bad idea. He never should have come here.

"Men these days don't do this kind of thing. Go to parents and ask for permission to marry their daughter that is. It is the proper thing to do and yet men disregard it. If there is any chivalry left in this God forsaken world," Richard said, pausing to take a deep breath before continuing. "It's in you Lucas Danes. You are a pure gentleman."

Luke wasn't sure what he had just heard. Was Richard Gilmore actually commenting him? "Excuse me sir?"

"I said you're pure gentleman. One worth of my daughter. You have my permission Luke. Better yet, you have my blessing."

"Really?"

"Richard..." Emily interjected.

"Yes," Richard replied, ignoring Emily completely. "I would be honored to have you marry Lorelai."

Luke stood from his seat and shook Richard's hand again. "Thank you sir. Thank you very much."

"You're welcome Luke. Now, why don't you go on now. You must have some work to do."

"I do. Thank you again Mr. Gilmore. Thank you Mrs. Gilmore." With that, Luke left.

"You are unbelievable," Emily spat at Richard.

"Excuse me?" Richard asked.

"Richard! How could you?!? How could you just do that?"

"How could I do what?"

"Give Luke permission to propose to Lorelai!"

"The man asked to marry our daughter and I said yes."

"I know that! I'm asking you why you said yes."

"Because he loves her."

"He's not good enough for her."

"And why not Emily? Because he's not rich? Because he works in a diner and works twice as hard as any man at our club for a salary less than half what we make?"

"Yes! He works in a diner! That is not a respectable profession for our daughter's husband."

"Do you know what you just said to me Emily? You just told me you don't want the man our daughter loves and who loves her back to marry her because he's not a snob!"

"How dare you!"

"How dare I? Speak for yourself. Luke makes Lorelai happy and by God, that's good enough for me. It should be enough for you too. That's all that matters Emily. They're in love and make each other happy. It should be enough."

"Well it's not. It will never be enough."

"Well than that's just too bad. Luke _will_ propose to Lorelai and Lorelai _will_ say yes. They _will _be together Emily. With our without your permission." With that, Richard left Emily alone on the study to contemplate what he had just said to her.


	2. Lorelai Gilmore, will you

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Chapter 2**

Luke sat in his truck, taking long deep breaths. He arrived at Lorelai's house an hour before their date, but he had been in his truck the whole time. He wasn't sure what was keeping him from going to the door. It was either excitement or fear. Possibly a combination of the two. Who knew proposing would be so hard? It wasn't the first time at least. After a few more minutes of mental preparation, Luke finally got out of his truck and headed to the door.

"Hey," Lorelai greeted when she opened the door. "Nice tie."

"Thanks," Luke thanked as he looked down at his clothes. He just realized he wore that same time when he met with her parents a few days before. "Ready to go?"

"Almost."

"Almost? What? Laundry not finished? Can't find your keys?"

"Laundry is done and keys are in my purse."

"Why almost then?"

"I need your help putting this necklace on." Lorelai held out a necklace to Luke.

"In that case, I'd be glad to help." He took the necklace and put it on her. "There. Perfect. Now are you ready?"

"Yes."

Luke opened the door for Lorelai. "After you."

"Thank you."

Lorelai and Luke headed to his truck. He had some trouble with his keys for a while. Mainly because he was so nervous he forgot which key it was and then dropped them when he found it. She had never seen him so nervous in her life. It was cute.

Luke planned the whole night out. First, he presented her with a bouquet of roses. Then he drove them to the park where they walked hand in hand as they talked about their day. They made out in the park until their rumbling stomachs reminded them it was time to eat. Now they were headed to a restaurant in Hartford, after which Luke said he had a surprise for Lorelai.

"This place looks like somewhere my parents would go," Lorelai remarked as they walked toward the restaurant.

"Actually, your dad recommended it," Luke said.

"Oh my God. This place probably charges an arm and a leg. Come on. Let's go."

Luke caught Lorelai by the arm. "Lorelai, stop it. It's fine. Your father recommended this place because it's the best restaurant in my price range. Besides, money isn't an issue. Please. Can we just go inside?"

"Ok, but I'm ordering the least expensive thing on the menu."

Luke rolled his eyes and led her into the restaurant. When they got to their table, Luke pulled a chair out for her.

"Luke, what's this all about?" Lorelai asked.

"Do I have to have a reason to take my girlfriend out?" Luke asked.

"When you take me out to a place that my parents' and their friends go you do."

"I just wanted to do something nice for you."

"You don't have to."

"I know, but I _want_ to."

"What are you up to?"

"Nothing," Luke laughed. "I just want tonight to be special."

"Why?"

"Order your food."

Lorelai held her tongue about her theory of Luke's hidden agenda the rest of the night. They talked about whatever came to mind: the diner, the inn, Rory. Luke made it clear several times that despite his age, he still wanted children.

"At least one of each," Luke said. "A boy especially. My dad used to joke about me being the last one to carry on the Danes name."

"I remember him saying that once," Lorelai laughed. "He said you had to have a boy to carry on the Danes family name and tradition. What tradition was he talking about?"

"Being a loner until you're forty something."

"And being a Trekie?"

"I was not a Trekie."

"So says the man with the Star Trek t-shirt."

"The Danes family tradition my dad was talking about is the diner. My father owned it when it was a hardware store and he passed it on to me to carry on. Although, I did turn it into a diner."

"Good thing too. We might not be here if you hadn't."

"Well, my dad wanted me to pass the store on to the first of my kin. That's why he wanted my first child to be a son."

"I remember your dad saying something about a tradition, but I don't think it was that. It was something about the first male of each generation getting something."

"An extensive wardrobe of flannel shirts and baseball hats?"

"I'm serious Luke. It was some kind of piece of jewelry."

"I think when I have a girl, it'll be my undoing. I'm going to spoil my daughter rotten," Luke said changing the subject as quickly as possible.

"Yeah. I remember. Rory loved having you around growing up."

"She loved the fact that I let her have coffee every time she looked at me with puppy dog eyes."

"She had you wrapped around her finger. You built her a bookcase to go on her desk for her..."

"Twelfth birthday. She had so many damn book, she need something to put them on."

"And let's not forget that coffeecake and balloons."

"She told you about that?"

"Of course."

"I enjoyed it being a part of her life."

"I enjoyed having you around to help me raise her. Especially since Chris was MIA for so long."

"I'd do it again if I had the chance."

"That's why I love you so much Luke Danes."

Luke smiled at Lorelai and took her hands in his. "I love you too Lorelai Gilmore."

"So. Dessert?"

"Go ahead and order anything you want."

"Ok seriously, how can you afford this?"

"All that matters is that I can."

"You're not franchising the diner are you?"

"No. Why would you think that?"

"Because my dad's friend Herb the banker is headed this way."

"What?!?" Luke looked over to see the man he was introduced to when Richard had taken him golfing. Luke turned around and tried not to be seen. "Ah geez. Is he looking over here?"

"Oh no. He's coming this way!"

"He is?!?"

"No, but you should see yourself. You look ridiculous."

"I don't want to franchise the diner."

"And I don't want you to."

"Then keep that man away from me!"

"Ok, he's leaving."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Luke glanced over his shoulder and confirmed what Lorelai had just said. "Have you picked out a dessert yet?"

"Are you going to get something?"

"No."

"Then I don't want dessert either."

"Lorelai."

"You eat, I eat."

"If I could just get you to think that way about coffee."

"If _I_ could just get _you_ to think that way about coffee."

"Fine. Order something and we'll share."

"Can it be chocolate?"

"Whatever you want. Do you want chocolate?"

"No."

"Then why'd you ask?"

"I wanted to keep my options open."

"You confuse me."

"That's the idea."

Lorelai ordered a dessert for them. They shared a piece of New York strawberry cheesecake. Lorelai went for the strawberry just to keep Luke happy by eating some kind of fruit.

"Ok, so do I get my surprise now?" Lorelai asked as she took another bite of the cake.

"You want it now?" Luke asked, picking at what was left on the plate.

"Not if you were planing to give it to me later."

"Dirty."

"Unintentional."

"I can give you your surprise now if you want."

"If it's not in your plan for me to get it now, I can wait."

"No. I can give it to you now."

"Ok. What is it?"

Luke sighed and put down his fork. He wiped his mouth and took Lorelai's hands in his once again. "I love you."

"I know you do."

"I can't imagine what my life would be like if you weren't in it. The thought of never meeting you horrifies me. You and Rory are everything to me. You mean more to me than the diner."

"Thank you for clearing that up for me."

"Lorelai, please. I'm trying to be serious."

"Ok, I'm sorry. Go on."

Luke took a deep breath and released one hand and reached into his pocket. "Lorelai Gilmore, will you..."

"Oh my God," Lorelai said suddenly, her eyes growing wide.

Then Luke realized something. She wasn't looking at him. She was looking past him. He turned around to see what she was staring at. He couldn't believe what he was seeing. Rather, _who_ he was seeing.


	3. What do you mean you didn't do it?

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Chapter 3**

Rory parked her car and hurried toward Luke's. He called her last night in a panic state and told her he was nervous because he was going to propose to Lorelai. She waited all night for Lorelai to call and tell her, but she never did. Rory just figured Luke was keeping her "occupied". It was sweet on some level, but very much disturbing to Rory. When she walked into the diner, she spotted her mom at the counter.

"Mom!" Rory called, heading toward Lorelai.

Lorelai turned around. "Rory? What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked in shock as Rory gave her a big hug.

"I had to come and see it."

"See what?"

"Let me see your hand."

"My hand? Why?" Rory pulled Lorelai's hand out and was shocked when she didn't see a ring on her finger. "What's so fascinating about my hand?"

"Where is it?"

"Where's what?"

"The r..."

"Rory!" Lane interrupted. "I'm so glad you're here. Come with me."

"But..."

"I have something very important to tell you right now. Outside." Lane pulled Rory outside as fast as she could.

"Lane, what's going on? Why isn't there a ring on my mom's finger? And where is Luke? I don't see him in there."

"Luke's not here."

"What do you mean he's not here? Oh no, he ran away didn't he? He was too scared to propose last night and he ran didn't he?"

"He didn't run away. I didn't mean it like that. I meant he's not in the diner. He's upstairs in his apartment with Jackson, Morey, and TJ."

"Why?"

"Rory, Luke ran into a problem when he was trying to propose to Lorelai last night."

"_Trying_ to propose? What do you..."

"He didn't get the chance to propose last night. They're not engaged."

"But why not?"

After Lane explained Luke's dilemma to Rory, they headed back into the diner just in time to see Sookie, Babette, and Miss Patty headed toward Lorelai.

"Oh no," Lane said. "We have to stop them before..."

"Lorelai, darling, show us your hands," Patty said.

"Too late," Rory laughed.

"My hands?" Lorelai asked. "What is it about everyone and wanting to see my hands?"

"Sugar, we just want to see it," Babette replied, pulling out Lorelai's hand.

"Oh I'm so excited. Isn't this exciting?" Sookie said excitedly. She looked down and noticed there was no ring. "Where is it?"

"Oh, it's not there," Patty said in a disappointed tone.

"Where's what? What's not there?" Lorelai asked.

"Your manicure," Rory interrupted as she and Lane hurried over to the counter. Lane mouthed "He didn't propose" to Sookie, Babette, and Patty. "We heard rumor Luke took you to get a manicure last night. But I guess he didn't."

"You're all excited about Luke taking me to get a manicure?"

"It sounded romantic," Lane said. "Until I realized I just said that."

"So what did you do last night?" Babette asked.

"Oh it was so romantic," Lorelai cooed. "First, he gave me roses. Then he brought me to the park and we took a moonlit stroll. Of course we ended up making out until our stomachs started to growl. So then he took me to this restaurant my father requested."

"A Grandpa-approved restaurant?" Rory asked.

"That must have been expensive," Patty remarked.

"I could have cooked for you guys," Sookie remarked.

"It was and I know Sookie. But Luke insisted we eat there and order anything we wanted," Lorelai said. "It was like he was a totally different man. He let me have coffee and red meat and he didn't say a word. Of course, the dessert had to be healthy because we were going to share it. Then I begged him for my surprise and he kept trying to change the subject by reminding me how much he loves me and how grateful he is to have been in Rory's life."

"Aw, I liked having him around too," Rory smiled. "Ok, go on."

"So we left the restaurant and he took me home. We sat under the chuppah and watched the stars. Anything else that happened that night shouldn't be shared with the public. You wouldn't believe who we ran into at the restaurant."

"Wait, you ran into someone at the restaurant?" Sookie asked.

"Yeah."

"Before Luke gave you your surprise?" Patty asked.

"Yeah."

"Sugar, who was it?" Babette asked.

* * *

Luke sat in his apartment, still in his pajamas with his face buried in his hands. He didn't have the energy to get up and ready for work. Although the night before was great, it didn't go as planned and he didn't accomplish what he was trying to.

"What do you mean you didn't propose?!?" TJ yelled. "You told everyone you were going to propose. I'm surprised Lorelai didn't know."

"You were so excited yesterday," Jackson remarked. "What happened?"

"Max Medina," Luke replied through gritted teeth. "Max Medina happened!"

"Who's Max Medina?" TJ asked.

"Rory's teacher from Chilton," Morey replied. "He was the cat Lorelai was supposed to marry four years ago."

"He was there," Luke said as he got up and began to pace around. "He was at the restaurant and he saw us so he came over and started talking to us. I couldn't propose after that!"

"Why not?" TJ asked.

"The man is Lorelai's ex-fiancé TJ! I couldn't ask her to marry me with him there."

"Max was a part of Lorelai's past. She loves you now Luke," Jackson remarked.

"I know that. It's just...when Max proposed he sent one thousand daisies to the inn and it was really romantic. Taking her to dinner isn't remotely romantic as that."

"It doesn't matter if it's romantic or not," Morey remarked.

"It matters to me. It has to be perfect."

Just then, there was a knock at the door. "Hey Luke, it's Lane. You have a phone call downstairs," Lane said through the door.

"Take a message," Luke yelled back.

"I think you're going to want to take it."

"Lane, just take a..."

"It's Richard and Emily Gilmore."

Luke's head shot up. "I'll be down in a minute."

"We'll go downstairs," Jackson said.

Jackson, Morey, and TJ left Luke alone to change. Five minutes later, he came downstairs and spotted Rory.

"What are you doing here?" Luke asked.

"I wanted to see Mom's manicure?" Rory replied.

Luke looked at Rory awkwardly and picked up the phone. "Hello?"

"Luke! I'm so glad you're there," Richard said happily. "Rory told us you proposed last night."

"About that Mr. Gilmore..."

"We're very excited about this," Emily's voice chimed in. "We'd like to celebrate."

"Mrs. Gilmore, that won't be necessary..."

"Nonsense son. We want to. Instead of having separate outings tonight, we're all going to have one big family dinner," Richard said.

"It's at seven, don't be late," Emily said.

"Can we possibly talk about this?" Luke pleaded.

"Of course we can," Richard said.

"Good. You see..."

"We'll talk tonight. We'll see you, Lorelai, and Rory at seven." Click.

"Hello? Mr. Gilmore? Mrs. Gilmore? Richard, Emily. Someone..." Luke accepted that they had hung up on him when he heard the dial tone come from the receiver. He sighed and put the phone down. He turned to Lorelai and Rory. "Dinner's at seven."

"Were you just trying to get out of Friday night dinner with my parents?" Lorelai asked.

"It was worth the try."

"Aw sweetie, you're so naive. I have to get back to the inn. I'll see you tonight."

"Yeah. Tonight." Luke gave Lorelai a quick kiss before she left. Once she was gone, everyone looked sympathetically at him.

"Aw honey," Babette said when she saw the look in Luke's eyes.

"It's just a little road block. Not even a road block. A speed bump," Sookie added. "It'll get better. You'll propose and she'll say yes."

"She loves you Luke. Everyone knows that," Patty said. "Don't we?"

"Yeah," everyone in the diner said.

"We were all rooting for you Luke," Kirk remarked. "We were hoping for a big engagement. Front page news."

"Everything will work out," Taylor added.

"Thanks everyone," Luke said. "I appreciate it."

"It's going to happen. You're gonna marry Lorelai," Babette said. "I can feel it."

"My grandparents don't know you didn't propose do they?" Rory asked.

"Nope," Luke replied.

"You were trying to tell them weren't you?"

"Yup."

"But they didn't let you tell them."

"Nope."

"This is going to be one interesting dinner."

"God help us all."

Rory walked over to Luke and gave him a hug. "I wish Max hadn't shown up," she said.

"So do I. So do I," Luke said softly, hugging Rory back. Sookie, Patty, Babette, and Lane joined in the hug.

* * *

**A/N:** **Ok I know there hasn't been any RoryLogan going on, but I wanted to get this out of the way first. Logan might show up in the next chapter, depending how I feel and how the story goes.**


	4. Dinner equals disaster

**A/N:** **Ok, I decided to take a turn in the story line. This is a longer chapter than usual because I need to get this out of the way. So here's the deal, the boat thing is gonna happen and Lorelai's lunch with Christopher did too. All other changes will be brought up later on.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Chapter 4**

The drive to the Gilmore mansion was quiet. Luke met up with Lorelai and Rory at their house and they headed out from there. Luke didn't speak because his mind was still occupied about the night before. The idea of Max ruining his plan to propose wore him out. Rory said nothing because she didn't know what to say. She planned to gush over Lorelai's engagement and start with wedding plans, but that wasn't going to happen. And Lorelai stayed quiet because each time she tried to start a conversation, Luke or Rory would kill it in four lines or less. She had a feeling something was bothering them, but she didn't know how to bring the subject about.

They each silently thanked God when Luke finally pulled into the driveway. Luke climbed out of the Jeep and opened the door for Lorelai and then Rory. Lorelai headed for the pool house, but was surprised to see Luke and Rory head for the main house.

"Where are you guys going?" Lorelai asked. "We have drinks with Dad first, remember?"

"Your dad said to go to the main house," Luke replied.

"Why?"

"Mom, please don't ask any questions. Let's just go," Rory pleaded.

"Please," Luke sighed, a serious tone heavily lingering in his voice. The look in his eyes was just as depressing as his voice.

Lorelai studied the two people with her. Something was _way_ off. "Fine Serious Sally and Depressed Dan. We'll go to the main house."

The three headed for the main house and rang the door bell. Luke stared at Lorelai as they waited for someone to answer the door. He cursed Max Medina in his mind for the millionth time that night. How dare he ruin the perfect evening? Luke quickly looked down at his feet when Lorelai looked his way. She thought she felt his eyes on her. The door finally opened and they were greeted by the maid, who took their coats.

Lorelai was shocked when she saw Emily _and _Richard enter the room. "Dad? What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"I wanted to be here for the special occasion," Richard smiled.

"Special occasion?"

"Lorelai, don't be silly. Rory called and told us the great news," Emily said.

Richard tried very hard to keep the smile on his face. He could sense the fake tone in Emily's voice and it bugged the hell out of him.

"Umm, Grandma, Grandpa, there's something I need to tell you," Rory said. She had to tell them about the interruption last night. She had to tell them Luke didn't get the chance to propose.

"We are so happy for you Lorelai," Richard stated. He took his daughter's hand in his and looked down at it. The smile on his face slowly faded.

Emily noticed there was no ring either. "Where is it?" she asked.

"Where's what?" Lorelai asked in response.

"Richard, it's not there."

Richard looked to the man they were planning to welcome into the Gilmore family. Luke just looked away. "Oh. I see," Richard said. "Emily, why don't we move into the living room and have some drinks while we wait for dinner?"

"I want to know what's going on," Emily stated.

"That's what I'd like to know too," Lorelai added.

"Drinks sound great," Rory chimed in. "What do you think Luke?"

"Uh...yeah. Drinks are good," Luke stuttered.

"No. No drinks," Lorelai stated. Just then, she realized what she had just said. "Ok...no drinks right now. Something's going on and I want to know." When no one said anything, Lorelai decided to choose someone to pick on. "Luke." Luke looked away. "Luke, what's going on?"

"Lorelai, this is ridiculous," Richard stated. "Leave the boy alone. There's nothing going on. I just wanted to have dinner with my family. It's been such a long time since we all sat down at one table and ate together. I missed it so I asked your mother if I could join you."

"Earlier Mom said Rory called you to tell you the good news and you said you wanted to be here for the 'special occasion.' What good news and what special occasion?"

"I'm tired of this Lorelai," Emily said. "We're all going to go to the living room for a drink and then we're going to have dinner as a family. No questions asked. Do I make myself clear?"

"Mom…"

"Lorelai, do I make myself clear?"

"Yes Mom."

They all headed to the living room. Richard grabbed Luke by the arm. "What's going on? Why isn't there a ring on my daughter's finger?" Richard asked in a whisper.

"It's a long story Mr. Gilmore. One I don't feel like getting into right now," Luke whispered back. "Besides, I thought there was to be no questions asked." Luke shook loose of Richard's grasp and followed the others into the living room.

Richard couldn't help but notice the sudden change in Emily's attitude. It was as if she were happy Luke hadn't proposed. Who was he kidding? Of course she was happy. She didn't make an effort to hide the fact she didn't want the man marrying their only daughter. But did she have to be so damn happy about it?

* * *

Throughout drinks Emily kept her up beat attitude by bringing up subjects that didn't directly insult Luke, but still cut through him like a knife. It was greatly agitating Richard. He could barely sit still. They were mid-way through dinner and Emily was still at it.

"Children make life so much more worth living," Emily remarked. "Richard and I loved raising Lorelai, although she didn't enjoy it as much as we did. Of course we didn't always agree, but not everyone agrees on everything."

"I'm just glad I got the opportunity to experience some kind of parenthood when Rory was growing up," Luke said. "She was a really great kid. She still is."

"Do you plan on starting a family Luke?"

"Yeah. I didn't always want kids, but after Rory and watching after Jess when he stayed with me I just want to do it again."

"He's a great man Mom. The perfect man to have and raise children with," Lorelai complimented.

"Grandma, this chicken is great," Rory said, trying to get Emily to stop.

"Thank you Rory. You know Luke, that truck of yours couldn't possibly accommodate a family," Emily remarked.

"I know," Luke said.

"You'd have to buy a van. A mini van at least. Or a SUV. Would you be able to _afford_ a van?"

"Uh…"

"I'm sure that diner of yours is doing well, but you might want to start looking for another job."

"Emily," Richard said in a warning tone.

"I remember Richard saying he suggested you franchise the diner."

"Emily," Richard said again.

"Maybe you should look into that."

"I don't think I'd be able to manage a chain of Luke's diners," Luke remarked.

"One Luke's is enough," Lorelai added.

"Yes. _One_ Luke's _is_ enough," Emily said.

"Emily!" Richard growled, pounding his fist onto the table and shocking everyone. He knew what Emily was really saying and it was the last straw.

"Grandpa?" Rory said.

"Richard, you're causing a scene and you're being quite rude," Emily remarked.

"Emily, I need to speak with you in the study," Richard stated.

"Dad, is everything ok?" Lorelai asked.

"We're in the middle of dinner Richard. We can't just leave our guests…" Emily said.

"Now Emily," Richard stated.

He threw down his napkin and stormed off to the study with Emily right behind him. Luke, Lorelai, and Rory sat at the table silently for a while, picking at the food on their plates.

"I wonder what that was all about," Lorelai said suddenly.

"It's probably nothing," Rory said, trying to lighten the mood.

"That was _definitely _something." Lorelai looked over at Luke. "Honey, are you ok?"

"Huh? Oh yeah. I'm fine," Luke replied. "If you'd excuse me, I need to use the bathroom." He stood and put his napkin down on the table. "Where's the bathroom?"

"Through the foyer, down the hall, past the study."

"Thanks. I'll be right back." Luke was on his way to the bathroom and as he passed the study, he heard yelling coming from inside.

"That's all I asked Emily. I asked you to be civil to that man for _one evening_!" Richard yelled.

"This is absolutely ridiculous Richard," Emily snapped back. "They're not even engaged."

"So that gives you the right to attack Luke?"

"He's not good enough for Lorelai."

"I'm tired of fighting about this. He makes our daughter happy!"

"That's not the point."

"It is exactly the point!"

"He works in that horrid diner. He drives a disgusting truck. He dresses like a lumber jack! He lives above his diner! He's not like us Richard."

"Emily, I've accepted the fact that Lorelai will never marry the kind of man we wanted her to. It doesn't matter to me what Luke does for a living, or what he drives, or how he dresses. I just want my daughter to be happy."

"I do too. I just think she'd be happier with a more respectable man."

"Luke is a respectable man. By the way, he doesn't _work _at a diner. He _owns _a diner."

"He isn't good enough!"

"You sound like a broken record." Richard looked up and saw Luke standing at the door. "Emily."

"If I have to say it a million times to get it through your head, then I will."

"Emily."

"I will not have my only daughter marrying that vile…"

"Emily."

"Dissolute…"

"Emily."

"_Poor_, barbarian!"

"For God's sake Emily, shut up!"

"Well I never! How dare you speak to me in that manner Richard Gilmore! What would possess you to tell me to 'shut up'?" Richard pointed to the door. Emily turned around and saw Luke at the door. "Luke…"

"I was an idiot to think you'd accept me into this family," Luke laughed. "I may not have a lot of money or drive a fancy car or live in a big house. I don't have a job that requires me to sit behind a desk all day and I don't wear a suit to work. I drive a truck. I wear flannel shirts. I own my own diner and I live above that diner. I'm not the kind of man you wanted Lorelai to end up with, but I make happy. She tells me that everyday. I'm lucky to have her and I love her with everything I am. And I was an idiot to think that was enough." Luke turned around and was about to head back to the table.

"Luke…" Richard started.

Luke stopped and faced the Gilmores again. "If you didn't want me marrying Lorelai, all you had to do was say so. Oh and in case you were wondering, I didn't get the chance to propose to Lorelai last night. Max Medina was at the restaurant and ruined the evening. I'm sorry if I ruined this one. I'm also sorry if you think I ruined your daughter's life." With that, Luke left.

Richard turned to Emily. "It wasn't a coincidence Max was at the restaurant was it?"

* * *

Things were very tense during the rest of dinner and on the ride back to Lorelai's. Something happened, but Rory and Lorelai were completely clueless. Rory got a call from Paris and decided to go back to campus, promising to be back to have breakfast with Luke and Lorelai.

"I should get going too," Luke said, giving Lorelai a quick kiss on the lips. "See you tomorrow."

"Luke, wait," Lorelai called after him. He stopped and faced her. "What's going on?"

"Nothing's going on."

"No, there's something going on. You've been all mopey, moody, angry, and just about three of the other dwarfs all day. Luke, please, talk to me."

"I don't have the energy to fight with you right now."

"Then let's not fight. Tell me what's going on."

"I'm going home." Luke continued to his car, but Lorelai wasn't going to give up that easy. She followed him and when he opened his door, she shut it. "I said I'm not in the mood Lorelai."

"Why are you hiding something from me? Why won't you tell me?"

"Because you don't need to know."

"Are you cheating on me?"

"What?!? Of course not!"

"Do you have some incurable disease I should know about?"

"You know if I did."

"Why are you hiding something from me? God, this is just like the boat thing."

"Don't bring up the boat."

"If you had just told me…"

"If you had just stayed out of my damn business!"

"It was your father's boat."

"I wanted to get rid of it, but you couldn't stay out of it. You went behind my back and bought the boat! I told you to leave it alone and you still did it! And don't try to pin this keeping secrets crap all on me. You didn't tell me about your lunch with Rory's father."

"That was different."

"How? You kept something from me. How is it different?"

"We didn't fight about Christopher!"

"We are now!"

"Is everything alright out there sugar?" Babette asked through her window.

"Everything's fine Babette," Lorelai replied with a sigh.

"Yeah. I was just leaving," Luke added, staring at Lorelai when he said his last statement.

"Luke, please. I don't want you to leave angry."

"A little late for that don't you think?"

"We've only had one big fight since we've been together. Can we please handle this like adults?"

"Fine," Luke said, shutting his car door again.

"What are we doing Luke?"

"I thought we were fighting."

"I'm trying to be serious. I'm sorry ok. I'm sorry for the boat thing, I'm sorry about Christopher, and I'm sorry for prying into your mood."

"Just saying 'I'm sorry' isn't going to fix everything. We're not going to learn anything from those two words. This is what couples do Lorelai. They argue. Not all the time, but they do argue."

"Well tell me what to say to fix this."

"I can't just tell you what to say!" Luke sighed and scratched his head. "I don't know how this is going to work out."

"What? Luke, no…"

"I can't. No. I can't do this anymore Lorelai. There's only one thing to do."

"Luke, no. Please. This isn't working things out. We can work it out. Please don't…"

"We're going to have to move in together."

"Lu…what did you say?"

"There's obviously some things we need to learn about each other and moving in together is the only way I can think of settling this."

"Are you serious?"

"I am totally serious."

"Lucas Danes, you are so…don't ever scare me like that ever again!"

Luke laughed. "So is that a yes?"

"Of course it's a yes!" Lorelai jumped into Luke's arms and kissed him as hard as she could.

Luke pulled away and smiled at Lorelai. "I told you I was all in didn't I?"


	5. Secrets, apologies, and ducks

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Chapter 5**

Logan walked around in Rory and Paris's dorm as Rory showered and got ready to go to Stars Hollow. She was going to take Paris with her since Paris had nothing else to do anyway. "So you know Rory's mom?" Logan asked.

"Yes," Paris replied, not looking up at him.

"What she like?"

"She's cool. Lorelai and Rory are more like best friends than mother and daughter."

"So I hear. And that guy she's always talking about..."

"Luke?"

"Yeah, that's him. What's he like?"

"Luke is an awkward man. Very grouchy. Wears flannel and a baseball cap that's on backwards. Works in a diner he owns. Lives above that diner. Drives a really old truck."

"Wow. That's a big difference from the world the Gilmore family comes from."

"Lorelai and Rory come from a different Gilmore world."

"What do Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore think of that guy?"

"Richard and Emily Gilmore don't really have a say in Lorelai's relationship with _Luke_. He's a good guy. You might want to use his name. He likes that."

"Did Rory wait this long to introduce all her old boyfriends to her parents?"

"No. Just you. All her ex-boyfriends lived in Stars Hollow already. Not much of a hassle."

"What's not much of a hassle?" Rory asked as she walked out of her room.

"Taking Paris with you to have breakfast with your parents. I thought it was kinda weird she's going with you to spend the day with your family," Logan lied.

"Paris knows them and they know her. I think she's actually growing on them. We really need to get going. I don't want to keep my parents waiting."

"Hey, why don't I go with you guys?"

"What?"

"I don't have anything else to do today. Why not? I'd love to meet your mom and dad."

"Oh um, my parents are just expecting me and Paris. I don't wanna just spring you on them. I don't want them to met you like that. I'm sorry Logan. Maybe next time."

"Oh. Yeah. Next time. I'll see you later then. Call me?"

"I will. Bye." Rory kissed Logan on the cheek and she and Paris left.

"He thinks Luke is your dad," Paris remarked as they headed to Rory's car.

"Luke was there more than my real dad when I was growing up. He is my dad," Rory said.

"Sentimentally, but not biologically. You don't even call Luke 'Dad'. You call him Luke."

"And?"

"You're going to have to tell him the truth someday."

"Someday. Just not today."

"Are you going to tell Luke and your mom about Logan?"

"I stand by my previous statement."

* * *

Rory and Paris walked into the diner. They looked around and saw Miss Patty with Babette gossiping as usual. Kirk was at the counter along with a few other of the 'usuals'. And Lane was running around putting plates in front of customers. 

"Hey Lane," Rory greeted her friend.

"Rory! You're early," Lane remarked. "Hi Paris."

"Lane," Paris greeted.

"Where's Mom and Luke?" Rory asked.

"Luke's in the back and your mom is using the upstairs bathroom," Lane replied.

"Why doesn't she use the one down here?" Paris asked.

"Makes her feel special to be able to go upstairs and use Luke's bathroom. My mother is a very strange woman," Rory replied. Just then, Lorelai walked into the diner from upstairs. "Hi Mom."

"Hey Rory," Lorelai greeted. "Oh, you brought Paris. Hey Paris."

"Hello Lorelai," Paris greeted.

"Luke's just making us some breakfast right now. Do you want some coffee while we wait?"

"Coffee sounds great Mom," Rory replied.

"Sit and I'll get you some." Lorelai walked behind the counter and took out three coffee mugs.

"Luke isn't going to be mad you're back there?" Rory asked as Lorelai filled her cup.

"Honey, I'm the girlfriend remember? I can do whatever I want."

"Lorelai!" Luke yelled as he walked out from the back. "What are you doing?"

"Uh oh." She hurried from behind the counter and sat next to Rory, giggling as she did.

"How many times have I told you not to do that? My insurance doesn't cover you. If a box fell on your head, that's it."

"But I'm the girlfriend remember?"

"Don't go behind my counter."

"Say kiss."

"Kiss." Lorelai leaned over the counter and gave Luke a quick peck on the lips.

"Morning Rory."

"Hey Luke," Rory smiled.

"Paris is here," Lorelai stated.

"I see that. How are you Paris?" Luke asked as the group migrated to a table by the window.

"I'm fine thank you. I hope I'm not imposing," Paris said.

"Don't worry. You're not. Caesar, grab one more breakfast plate for Paris please."

Luke put the three plates he was carrying on the table. Rory noticed that there was a bandage wrapped around his left hand that went down to mid-forearm. "Oh my gosh Luke, what happened to you?" Rory asked.

"This? Oh it's nothing. I just fell off a ladder when I was changing the porch light earlier."

"You fell off the ladder changing the porch light?"

"After I was electrocuted."

"You were electrocuted?!?"

"More like a little shock. Your mother flipped the switch too early."

"How was I supposed to know I wasn't supposed to flip the switch?" Lorelai asked in defense.

"When I said 'Lorelai, don't flip the switch or I'll get electrocuted,' it should have been a given. But really Rory, it's nothing. I'm fine."

After breakfast, Lorelai left to do a few things at the inn and Luke brought the dishes to the back. While he was gone, Rory, Paris, and Lane chatted at the table. Rory's attention was diverted when the bell above the door rang and Richard walked in. She excused herself and walked over to her grandfather, dragging him back outside.

"Rory, what in heaven's name are you doing?" Richard asked.

"What are you doing here?" Rory asked with a hint of anger.

"I came to see Luke."

"Why? So you can yell at him more? Or maybe you wanted to insult him further?"

"Rory, I have no idea what you're talking about."

"You and grandma insulted him last night Grandpa. You poked fun of his profession, his way of life, and even his car. You didn't say anything to him directly, but you might as well have."

"I did no such thing. I respect Luke for everything he does."

"Yeah right. If you didn't want him to propose to Mom, that's all you had to say. But don't worry, he didn't get to. Max Medina showed up at the restaurant and ruined everything."

"I know."

"You know? You didn't..."

"No. Emily did." Richard sighed. "Your grandmother didn't want Luke to propose to Lorelai. Instead of saying so, she decided to send Max and a bunch of other teachers from Chilton to the same restaurant Luke and Lorelai would be at."

"Oh my God. Why would she do such a thing?"

"Emily and I wanted your mother to marry someone of higher prestige than Mr. Danes. I came to terms that wouldn't happen, but your grandmother didn't. But I assure you, she will not be interfering anymore."

"I'm sorry Grandpa. I shouldn't have attacked you like that. Now I feel like an idiot."

"Think nothing of it Rory. You were just protecting Luke. He's a good man. I hope one day you'll find someone like him."

"Yeah. Me too." Rory smiled at her grandfather and they walked back into the diner.

Just as they walked in, Luke was walking out of the back. He spotted Richard and froze. "Mr. Gilmore," he finally managed to get out. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to see you," Richard replied as he took a seat at the counter.

"Would you like something to eat? Or some coffee or tea?"

"I'm fine. Thank you for asking. I'm going to get straight to the point Luke. Emily and my behavior was unacceptable last night."

"Mr. Gilmore..."

"No, no son. This needs to be said. I'm sorry. What Emily said was rude and extremely out of line. I want you to know that I fully support your relationship with my daughter. You are an honorable man, worthy of my daughter."

"Thank you Mr. Gilmore."

"I'm not sure where Emily stands in all this anymore. She's had time to think, but I don't know if she's changed her mind. I hope her actions haven't changed your mind about proposing."

"They haven't. I appreciate you coming here to talk to me, but I have some things to do."

"Of course, you've got a business to run. I, of all people, should know not to disturb a man when he's working. How about we go out for a round of golf some day? I promise, no talk of franchising."

"Yeah," Luke laughed. "I'd like that. I'll call you later." Richard nodded and left the diner, waving to Rory on his way out.

"Since when does Luke golf?" Babette asked Patty.

* * *

Lorelai quietly walked into the house. After work, she met up with Rory, Paris, and Lane to go shopping. She didn't mean to take so long, but there was a sale at the mall and she was sucked in. She didn't even need half the things she got, but she bought them anyway. She felt bad so she bought Luke some shirts, a few flannel and a couple formal ones. 

She walked into the bedroom to see Luke already in bed, fast asleep. It was Saturday and she knew he had to have been really busy. Then she had to go and steal Lane away. _Bad Lorelai!_ she scolded herself. She quickly dressed, set the alarm for the morning, and got into bed, careful not to wake Luke. She watched him sleep for about an hour before sleep overcame her too.

It was about five thirty when the alarm went off. It wasn't just any alarm though. Oh no. It was Lorelai's farm animal alarm. The one Luke knew nothing about. He nearly feel out of bed when he heard the sudden squealing of pigs.

"What the hell is that?" Luke asked.

"The alarm," Lorelai replied, still half asleep.

"It sounds like a pig."

"It is. Now get back into bed."

"Why does your alarm sound like a pig?" Luke asked as he walked over to Lorelai's side of the bed and picked up the clock.

"Because the chicks bring back memories of the time you broke my lamp. Come on Luke. Sleep is good."

Luke examined the clock. Great, it was one of those clocks with a million buttons that were completely useless. He made a bold choice and pressed a button, hoping the squealing would soon stop. Wrong choice. Now ducks were quacking. "Stupid ducks," Luke mumbled to himself as he pressed the button again. The quacking only got louder.

"Luke, what are you doing?" Lorelai asked, giving up on sleep.

"I think I got the ducks mad." Lorelai took the alarm and pressed a button and the alarm was off. "Please. Come back to bed and sleep."

"How did you..."

"Sleep!!"

"Yes dear." Luke walked back to his side of the bed and climbed in. He turned his head and stared at the sleeping Lorelai. _So this is what I'm going to get myself into,_ he thought to himself. He smiled at the thought. He couldn't wait to spend the rest of his life with this woman..

* * *

**A/N:** **Again, I needed to get a few things out of the way before the proposal. I may delay it one more chapter, but I highly doubt it. We'll see how it goes.**


	6. Let it snow

**A/N:** **Here's the long awaited proposal scene. I had a whole picture of it in my head, but I couldn't get it down. So this is the best I came up with. I borrowed a few lines from _Coyote Ugly._ **

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 6**

Lorelai stirred in her sleep as she tried to ignore the alarm clock that was mooing at her. Luke was right, it _was_ annoying. When she finally realized Luke wasn't going to stop the cows, she reached over and hit the snooze button. She was about to fall asleep again when the doorbell began to ring.

"Who in their right mind would be ringing our doorbell at two in the morning? Luke, could you go kill whoever's at the door?" Lorelai joked.

There was no response from Luke. She opened her eyes and looked over where he was supposed to be. His side of the bed was empty. Lorelai figured he was just in the bathroom. She got out of bed and headed downstairs. She noticed the bathroom door was open and empty when she passed by. Where could Luke be? He promised to watch the first snow of the season fall with her. It was an hour to go time and he wasn't in bed or in the bathroom. She passed through the kitchen. Still no Luke. But at least whoever was at the door was still there.

Lorelai opened the door and on the other side was Kirk in what seemed to be a chauffeur's uniform. Complete with the hat. "Kirk?" Lorelai asked, trying to contain her laughter.

"Good evening Ms. Gilmore," Kirk greeted formally. "Mr. Danes has given this to me to deliver to you." Kirk he out a box to Lorelai.

"What's this?"

"A surprise from Mr. Danes."

Lorelai opened the box and pulled out an elegant royal blue gown. "Oh my. This is beautiful."

"These go with them." Kirk handed Lorelai a bag with matching gloves, shoes, and shawl. "Mr. Danes would like you to be ready in forty-five minutes, wearing these garments. Then I am to take you to your destination."

"Which would be?"

"Forty-four minutes."

Lorelai rolled her eyes and ran upstairs to get ready. She changed as quickly as she could. She was down to her last five minutes when she finally came downstairs, dressed and ready to go.

"Ok, I'm ready," Lorelai said. "Let's go."

"We still have two minutes and forty-seven seconds," Kirk remarked.

"So?"

"We can't leave until two fifty."

"Why?"

"Because I was instructed to escort you to the limo at exactly two fifty."

"What limo?"

"Ok. It's time. Right this way Ms. Gilmore." Kirk ushered Lorelai to a limo parked at the curb.

"Oh my. Where on earth..."

"Ms. Gilmore if you would. We're about to be late." Kirk held the door open for Lorelai. After she got in, he shut the door and climbed into the driver's seat. Kirk turned on the engine and started down the street. Kirk flashed the high beams and stuck his hand out the window, giving the thumbs up.

Babette picked up the phone. "They're on the road," she said.

"Great," Luke said. "Thanks Babette."

"No problem sugar."

Luke put the phone down and turned to Sookie. "We've got two minutes. You think everything will be ready in time?"

"We're going to cut it close, but I think we can pull it off. You better get out there. You're running out of time."

"Ok. How do I look?"

"You look fine."

Luke took a deep breath and walked out of the diner. He walked over to the gazebo and stood inside. At the first sight of the limo, he signaled to Lane and the rest of her band to start playing. Luke's heart started to beat faster as the limo got closer. Kirk pulled up to the curb and helped Lorelai out of the back seat. The sight before Lorelai's eyes took her breath away. There were lights all around the gazebo, lighting it up and Lane and her band stood beside it in formal wear, playing soft, romantic music. She spotted Luke standing in the gazebo and went to join him. She smiled at him. He was dressed in a tux. Tie, vest, jacket and all. He looked very stunning.

"Glad you could join me," Luke said.

"What are you up to Luke Danes?" Lorelai asked with a smile.

"I thought you wanted to watch the first snow of the season. The first flake is due to hit the ground in a few minutes."

"You set all this up just to watch the first snow fall?"

"Maybe. Maybe not."

"Luke..."

"Remember that surprise I wanted to give you last week at the restaurant?"

"Yeah."

"How about I give it to you now?"

"Alright."

"Hey, Patty put up her Christmas lights. Why don't you turn around and take a look at them?"

"Ok, but I don't see what this has anything to do with your surprise. Plus it's way too early to have Christmas lights up."

Lorelai turned around and faced Miss Patty's studio. Luke gave the thumbs up and lights on the doors turned on making the words 'Will you marry me?' appear. Lorelai stared at the words for a long while. She slowly turned around to find Luke down on one knee, looking up at her. She covered her mouth in shock and tried to keep from crying.

"I tried this once and it didn't work out so well. I'm going to do this and I'm going to do it right. Lorelai, I love you. I'd move heaven and earth for you. I can't give you a big house or a fancy car or anything flashy. But I can give you the world. You and Rory are my world. Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?" He took a small velvet box out of his pocket and presented her with his family's engagement ring.

It became one of those rare moments where Lorelai actually couldn't speak. She opened her mouth, but all that came out was a whimper. She was shocked by Luke's proposal and the ring. She knew it was the ring that had been in his family for three generations. She closed her mouth and tried speaking again. "Yes," she said, tears now streaming down her face. "Yes Luke. I'll marry you."

Luke smiled and stood as he placed the ring on Lorelai's finger. He wrapped his arms around her and lifted her into the air. He placed her back on the ground and kissed her passionately. Lorelai looked around and realized that it had started snowing.

"It may not be one thousand daisies, but I hope it's ok," Luke joked.

"It's perfect," Lorelai said softly.

Luke looked over his shoulder at the diner. Sookie was standing outside, motioning for them to come inside. "Do you know what I'm in the mood for right about now?" he whispered into Lorelai's ear.

"Why that sounds like it deserves a dirty," she joked. "What did you have in mind?"

"I want what every man wants at three o'clock in the morning. Breakfast."

"Where we going to find food at this time?"

"The diner."

Lorelai looked toward the diner and saw a glow coming from inside. Luke took her hand and brought her inside. He led her to the table that was set and had a candle on it. He pulled out a chair for her.

"Smells like Sookie is making something really great," Luke said as he took his seat.

"Sookie's here? Who else did you get to do this?" Lorelai asked.

"Kirk, Babette and Morey, Lane, the band, Patty, Sookie, Michel..."

"Michel? Michel's here?" Luke pointed across the room where Michel was standing, arguing with Jackson about something. "It's Michel! How'd you get him to help?"

"My sledgehammer is very persuasive."

"You did not."

"It got Kirk into the monkey suit." Luke pulled out a cell phone and handed it to Lorelai. "Press the call button."

"Who is it?"

"Rory. Before you utter a word to anyone and make it official, you need to tell her. Come on. I'm letting you use a cell phone in the diner. It's a once in a life time opportunity."

Lorelai took the phone and pressed the call button. It rang twice before Rory picked up. "Hey kiddo, did I wake you?"

"Nope."

"It snowed."

"I know."

"The best thing that could happen to me since you happened."

"Did he ask?"

"He asked."

"It's about time. So, you're getting married?"

Lorelai looked up at Luke and smiled. "I'm getting married."

"It's about time."

As Lorelai and Rory talked on the phone, Michel walked over to the table and was soon arguing with Luke. "I despise you, you lumber jack," Michel spat.

"Good. I'm not too fond of you, you fruit loop," Luke said sarcastically.

"A come come back from the talking beast. You must be an insane man to attack people with sledgehammers."

"You must not like your head."

"I despise you."

"You said that already."

"You are a mongrel."

"With a sledgehammer."

"What's going on?" Rory asked.

"Oh nothing. Luke's just about to play baseball with Michel's head as the ball," Lorelai joked.

"Ok, good. Hey Mom?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"You sound happy."

"I am happy."

"I'm happy for you."

"Thank you. And one day, you'll find a man like Luke who'll love you and care for you and one day he'll make all your dreams come true."

"Will he be wearing flannel?"

"It wouldn't be Luke if he wasn't wearing flannel."

"We're lucky to have him aren't we?"

"Yeah, we are."

"I'd love to stay up all night and chat with you, but I have to go."

"Probably a good idea. Don't want you listening in on me and Luke."

"Dirty."

"Night."

"Night."

* * *

It had to be at least three in the morning when some crazed maniac knocked on Logan's door. He dragged himself out of bed and answered the door to find Rory standing on the other side. "Rory? What are you doing? It's three o…" Logan started. He was cut off when Rory threw her arms around him and kissed him passionately. 

"Hi," Rory smiled when she finally pulled away.

"Hi. What was that for?"

"My parents are getting married."

"I'd love to see what happens when they announce they're having a baby."

"Dirty. Sorry it's late. Mom just called with the good news."

"Don't worry about it. I didn't know your folks weren't married," Logan remarked as he led Rory inside. "Did they get divorced or something?"

"No. They've just never been married. To each other at least."

"So in twenty years, they've never gotten married."

"To each other."

"Why not?"

"There were things that got in the way. Other people mainly."

"Your grandparents?"

"Mom's fiancé and Dad's ex-wife."

"Your dad was married?"

"Yup. I'm not too sure what happened though. All I know is he divorced her."

"And your mom's fiancé? What happened to him?"

"Nothing. She didn't think he was the one and called the wedding off. If it weren't for him, my parents would have been engaged for a week by now."

"What do you mean if it weren't for him?"

"Max Medina, Mom's ex-fiancé, showed up at the restaurant my parents were at the day of the original proposal. Because of him, there was no proposal that night. I hope he doesn't ruin anything now. My parents are so happy together."

"I'm sure he won't. So, does this glorious news merit me an invitation to meet the couple?"

"It merits me a family dinner with them and my grandfather. They want it just to be us tonight. I'm sorry Logan."

"I should have guessed," Logan mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Listen Ace, I've got a big day tomorrow so I need to get back to bed. I'll see you before you visit your folks?"

"Uh…yeah. Sure."

"Alright." Logan gave Rory a kiss. "Bye."

"Bye." Rory left and on her way back to her dorm, she couldn't help but feel that something was off.

* * *

"Thank you," Lorelai said as she handed Luke the phone. "Who else knows about you proposing?" 

"The whole town knows. They've known for a month," Luke laughed.

"A month?!?"

"Yup. I'm surprised you didn't hear Babette or Patty talking about it."

"So am I. So, how did they all find out?"

"Well, I went to get the ring polished and Babette saw me walking out of the jewelry store. She told Patty and it was all down hill from there. They went crazy when they found out I went to Rory and your parents to ask for their permission."

"You asked Rory and my parents for permission to propose to me? I can understand Rory saying yes, but my parents?!?"

"Actually, I got your father's permission. I found out last week that your mom wasn't to hot about it though. But your dad insisted I propose anyway."

"I can't believe you asked for permission."

"It was important to me that it was ok. I wanted everything to be perfect."

"Oh Luke. It is. Everything is perfect. And it always will be."

Luke leaned over the table and kissed Lorelai. After their meal, Luke took Lorelai home and made love to her all night. Afterwards, they lay in bed. Lorelai's head rested on Luke's sweaty chest as he stroked her hair. Lorelai held out her and walk looked at the ring on her finger.

"We're getting married," she smiled. Unlike the time she said it when she was Max, she was positive it was going to work out this time.

"We're getting married," Luke repeated, kissing the top of her head.


	7. Luke and Country and Richard and Beer

**A/N: Thanks for sticking with this story. I hope you enjoyed the proposal scene. There'll be more mushy stuff and then some turbulence.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 7**

Rory ran to pick up the ringing phone. "Hello?" she answered.

"Luke listens to country," Lorelai instantly stated.

"What? How did you come to that conclusion?"

"He has a Gary Allen CD. I was looking for one of his shirts to put on and I couldn't find any…"

"Why were you looking for one of Luke's shirts to wear?"

"If we have guests, I can't be running the house around naked."

"Ew. Continue."

"So I was looking for a shirt and I couldn't find any just lying around. So I had to go through his boxes. And there, underneath his socks, was a Gary Allen CD."

"Well, that explains the flannel shirts."

"I'm going to repeat this one more time. Luke listens to country."

"Mom?"

"Yes?"

"Does Luke know you're going through his stuff?"

"If he did, I wouldn't be whispering."

"Where is he?"

"Downstairs making breakfast."

"Please tell me he's wearing pants."

"But I don't like lying to you."

"Mom! Naked Luke in our kitchen isn't something I want to think about!"

"Naked Luke is always fun."

"Oh gross. Please tell me you called other than to tell me that Luke listens to country and makes breakfast naked."

"Wanted to check what time you and Grandpa are coming over for dinner."

"Usual Friday night dinner time fine with you?"

"Seven it is."

"Ok Mom, I'll see you and Luke later."

"Can we be naked?"

"No mother. We gave up the nudist idea a long time ago remember?"

"Fine, but Luke's not going to be happy about this."

"Goodbye Mom. Tell the honky-tonk man I say hi and put some pants on."

"I will. Bye sweetie."

Lorelai hung up the phone and went to the kitchen. She watched as Luke cooked them breakfast. They decided to stay home and keep the masses waiting to hear the announcement they already knew. Luke felt a pair of eyes on him and looked over his shoulder.

"I thought you were going to call Rory," he remarked.

"I did. Oh, she says hi and put some pants on," Lorelai said.

"Ah geez, you told her I was naked again didn't you? Lorelai, why do you do that? She's going to think I'm weird."

"And naked."

"Please stop with the naked jokes. I want Rory to take me seriously."

"She does. She respects you more than any other man in her life, past and present. Besides, she knows I was kidding."

"Fine." Luke went back to the food on the stove. "So what time should I have dinner ready?"

"Well, she and Dad will be here at seven. We usually have drinks first, so eightish?"

"Eight sounds great." Lorelai stood beside Luke and watched him as he cooked. "So I was thinking, maybe I should swing by my old apartment and grab my various liquor bottles I stashed away for your dad. He seems to have a different drink in his hand every time…"

Before Luke could finish his sentence, Lorelai grabbed his face and kissed him lightly. She pulled back and smiled at him. "I love you Coffee Man," she said in a whisper.

"I love you too Crazy Lady." Luke put his arm around Lorelai and finished cooking.

* * *

"Luke they're here!" Lorelai yelled as she ran to answer the door. She and Rory squealed the second they saw each other. Sometime between the cheerfulness, Lorelai and Rory said hi to each other.

"Hello Lorelai," Richard greeted.

"Hey Dad," Lorelai replied. She noticed he wasn't wearing a tie. "Hey, where's your tie?"

"I didn't feel like wearing one today. How do I look?"

"Dashing."

"Ok, enough stalling lady. Where is it? I wanna see the ring," Rory said.

"Oh you mean this ring?" Lorelai teased, holding her hand out to Rory.

"Wow wee! It's gorgeous. Very classy."

"And antique. It belonged to Luke's great grandmother."

"I didn't think they had diamonds that big back in the day."

"Great Grandpa spent every last dime he had on that thing. That's why our family could only run a hardware store and a diner after that," Luke joked as he entered the room. "Hey Rory."

"Hey Luke," Rory smiled as she gave Luke a big hug. "Or would you rather be called Daddy?"

"Luke's fine. Mr. Gilmore."

"Now, now Luke, call me Richard or Dad if you'd like," Richard joked as he shook Luke's hand.

"By God, the man has humor!" Lorelai teased.

"You honestly didn't think you got it from your mother did you?"

"Guess wittiness is in the Gilmore blood," Rory joked.

"I'm going to check on the food and grab some drinks. What does everyone want?" Luke asked.

"Beer please," Lorelai replied. "It's so nice not having to drink those hard liquors."

"I'll have what she's having," Rory said, pointing to Lorelai.

"Richard, what do you want? I think we have a bottle of brandy somewhere here," Luke said.

"I think I'm going to take a walk on the wild side tonight. I'll have a beer also," Richard said.

"Wow, wit and a taste for nitwit juice. We've won him over!" Lorelai joked.

"Nitwit juice?" Richard said confused.

"Beers all around. I'll be right back," Luke laughed. As he passed by Lorelai, he leaned over and whispered into her ear. "Behave yourself."

"Luke, not now. We have guests!" Lorelai joked.

"Ah geez!" Luke hurried to the kitchen, feeling embarrassed even though he did nothing.

"So, Mom, have you made any decisions about the wedding?" Rory asked.

"Well, we've decided to get married," Lorelai joked. "Oh! And we know you're going to be my maid of honor."

"I'm not even going to be asked? I'm hurt."

"Do you want the job or not?"

"Glad to be aboard."

"We're getting married at the inn, under the chuppah…"

"The chuppah? Aren't those used in Jewish weddings?" Richard asked.

"Yes Dad, they are."

"I didn't know Luke was Jewish."

"I'm not Jewish," Luke said as he reentered the room with four beers in his hand. He handed them out and took a seat next to Lorelai. "Who said I'm Jewish?"

"No one said you're Jewish. He's not Jewish Dad," Lorelai said.

"Then why the chuppah?" Richard asked.

"Ah, the chuppah," Luke said.

"Luke built it for me when…" Lorelai stopped herself before she mentioned Max. "Luke built me a chuppah Dad."

"Luke _built _a chuppah?" Richard said in surprise.

"It's really nice Grandpa. Do you want to see it?" Rory asked.

"It's here?"

"Yup. In the backyard."

"Now this I _have _to see."

Richard stood up and followed Rory outside. Luke and Lorelai eventually stood and followed the other two outside. After a few minutes of Richard's complements about the chuppah, Luke announced dinner and suggested they retreat into the house.

"You've got a real talent Luke," Richard said.

"Ok Dad, we get it," Lorelai said.

"The boy deserves to be praised for his work. The craftsmanship of that chuppah was stupendous. I applaud you my boy."

"If you think building a chuppah is his main talent, you are _so_ wrong mister!"

"Dirty!" Rory laughed.

"Ah geez," Luke groaned in embarrassment.

"I don't get it. Am I missing something?" Richard asked.

"Better you be left out of this one Grandpa. You're so young and innocent," Rory joked.

Richard threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Who am I to argue with a young, fiery Gilmore?"

"What's on the menu tonight Luke?" Lorelai asked. "Oh! Is it that thing I stirred the first night you cooked for me? Rory, did I tell you I stirred something and it didn't mess up?"

"Yes Mom, you told me," Rory laughed.

"She was great at it too. A real pro. You should be proud," Luke teased as he set a plate in front of Lorelai and Rory.

"Hey it's the pasta thingy!" Lorelai squealed. "I love the pasta thingy."

"Lorelai, it has a name," Richard remarked.

"She's renamed it 'pasta thingy'," Luke laughed when he returned to the table with his and Richard's food. "She said the real name is too complicated. You tell it to her and she'll get confused and won't eat."

"Sad, weird, but all true," Lorelai said.

"I'll alert the Italians," Richard joked. He put some food in his mouth. "My God!" he exclaimed.

"What? What's wrong?" Luke asked.

"This is terrific!"

"Grandpa, you scared us," Rory remarked.

"I'm sorry. This is just so great. I'm definitely going to have seconds!"

"Yeah, he _definitely_ likes you," Lorelai joked.

"I hope there'll be this 'pasta thingy' at the wedding."

* * *

Luke looked up when he heard Lorelai enter the room. "How's he doing down there?" he asked.

"Are you talking about the drunk on our couch that has a remarkable resemblance to my father?" Lorelai joked.

"Yeah, him."

"He's fine for now, but he'll regret it in the morning." Lorelai climbed into bed with Luke. "So, I was thinking about something Rory said when she was working on her fifth beer."

"Honey, she was talking about a lot of things. She even suggested we dress up like superheroes at the wedding instead of wearing tuxes and dresses." He put his arm around her and pulled her body close to his.

"You know, I thought that was a great idea. It'd be different."

"I have never nor will I ever wear spandex. Especially not at my wedding."

"Aw come on. You can be Superman and wear the cape!"

"Lorelai, what were you saying before you lost your mind?"

"I think we should set a date for the wedding."

"Right now?"

"It would knock one more thing off our list. What season are we thinking? Spring? Summer?"

"How about winter?"

Lorelai sat up stared down at Luke. "You want to wait an entire year to get married?"

"Do you think I'm crazy?" Luke said as he sat up too. "I can't survive a year long engagement. I'll lose my mind."

"Winter starts next month and I highly doubt you're suggesting we get married this winter."

"What if I am?"

"What?"

"Lorelai, you know neither of us is going to be able to survive a long engagement. Our families will drive us insane."

"I can't plan a wedding for this winter by myself!"

"You won't be doing it by yourself. I'm going to be making some decisions. There's also Rory, Sookie, and I'm sure your mother has a whole book of ideas for the wedding. She'll probably be the one that drives us crazy."

"Well you won't have to worry about my mother. She's not going to the wedding. In fact, she's not even going to be invited."

"You have to invite your mother."

"Why?"

"Because she's your mother."

"Exactly why we shouldn't invite her."

"I'm not up to fighting about this right now. Let's get back on track and we'll argue about your mother tomorrow."

"Sounds good to me. Is there a specific day we're looking at?"

"I'm thinking February. But not too early in the month."

"So late February."

"No, not late February. It'll be too close to spring. How about smack dab in the middle?"

* * *

**A/N: Ok, bad cliff hanger, I know. Still a cliff hanger though. Next chapter is more about confrontations than anything else. Logan decides to step into the picture even though he doesn't even know Lorelai and Luke, which leads to a fight with Rory. Lorelai and Emily exchange words, which Luke walks in on and tries to fan out.**


	8. Oye, enough with the yelling already!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 8**

Logan got out of his car and stared at the building in front of him. In his heart, he thought he was doing the right thing. He wanted Rory to be happy and her parents getting married would make her happy. In order for her parents to get married, that meant this guy needed to stay as far away from them as possible. He fixed his jacket and headed inside the old building. He made his way down the hall until he found the room he was looking for. He knocked on the door and a minute later, a man opened the door.

"Can I help you?" Max asked.

"Are you Max Medina?" Logan asked.

"Yes I am."

"Then, yes. You can help me."

"Who are you?"

"Logan." Max gave Logan a look, prompting the younger man for a last name. Logan's response was simply, "A friend of Rory Gilmore's."

"Rory? Oh, I haven't seen her in years. How is she?"

"She's fine."

"That's great. Well, Mr. Logan a friend of Rory Gilmore's, what can I do for you?"

"I'm glad you asked. Mr. Medina, I have a proposition for you."

"A proposition?"

"I will pay you any amount to stay away from Lorelai Gilmore."

"You're going to pay me to stay away from Lorelai?"

"Yes. Ms. Gilmore is getting married. It has come to my attention that you've already become a nuisance to the couple. I am willing to go to any length to keep you away from Rory's mother."

* * *

Rory stormed down the hall like a mad woman. She had never felt so angry in her life than this very moment. _It'll kick up a couple notches when I see that pompous ass,_ she thought to herself. 

"Good afternoon Ro..." Fin started.

"Not now Fin," Rory stated.

She wasn't in the mood to hear anything with the word 'good' right now. She just pushed Fin and Colin out of her way to get to Logan's dorm. She banged on the door until Logan answered.

"Rory," Logan smiled. "What are you..."

"You have some nerve Logan Huntzberger," Rory interrupted, making his smile fade.

"What did I do?"

"Guess who I got a call from today Logan." Logan said nothing. "Max Medina. He told me you went to Chilton and tried to _pay_ him to stay away from my parents. Tell me that's not true."

"Rory..."

"Tell me it's not true!"

"I wanted you to be happy."

"Is it true or not Logan?"

"It is but..."

"You had no right to interfere with this. My parents will handle this in their own way, in their own time. There isn't even anything to handle! All Max did was postpone the proposal a week!"

"I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd react like this."

"How did you expect me to react?!?"

"Happy! I expected you to be happy I was willing to go to the length to keep this guy away from your parents!"

"You were going to pay him off Logan. That was an insult. To Max and to me. Whatever is between Max and my family is personal."

"Everything's personal with you Rory."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You keep me at arm's length. How am I supposed to get to know you if you won't let me in?"

"If you don't have the patience to be with me, then you better rethink this relationship."

"_I_ better rethink this relationship? _You_ need to rethink this relationship. I'm willing to go all the way. I'm beginning to wonder if you are."

* * *

Luke walked into the inn with his toolbox in hand. He walked up to the front desk. "Michel, where's Lorelai?" Luke asked. He got no response from Michel. "Michel. Hey, Michel. Michel." Luke began waving his hand in Michel's face. 

"Please stop that," Michel said, not looking up at Luke.

"I was asking you a question and you didn't answer. Did you hear me?"

"Yes."

"Then why no answer?"

"Because I was ignoring you."

"That's rather rude."

"Don't you have a hamburger patty to flip?"

"Shouldn't you pull that stick out of your ass?"

"Burger Boy."

"French Fry."

"Luke!" Lorelai smiled when she saw Luke. "Hey, glad you're here. There's something wrong with the sink. I think the garbage disposal is broken again."

"Ok, I'll go take a look at it." Luke headed for the kitchen, but Lorelai grabbed his arm, stopping him. "Hey, what..."

Lorelai interrupted him by kissing him passionately. "How's your day so far?" she asked, just above a whisper.

"It's going great now."

"Has anyone said anything to you about us?"

"You kidding me? I was mobbed by Babette and Patty. Everyone kept asking me questions and congratulating us, except Frenchie over there."

"I have already told you I hate you, have I not?" Michel asked.

"Not today Frenchie."

"Lorelai, surely you can do better than this miscreant."

"What's better than perfect?" Lorelai joked.

"God," Luke added. "Well I better go fix that sink."

"Ok. I'll see you and Bert later." Luke laughed and shook his head as he headed to the kitchen. Lorelai took her place behind the front desk and started to go through the mail.

"Who is Bert? Your new boyfriend I pray," Michel said.

"Bert is Luke's toolbox," Lorelai replied with a slight chuckle.

"He named his toolbox?"

"I named his toolbox."

"Why?"

"Because I see so much of him."

"Luke?"

"Bert."

"I will never understand you."

"It's better not to try."

* * *

Richard was sitting outside on the front porch of the inn. He enjoyed just relaxing. The weather was perfect today. Although it had been snowing, it wasn't too cold, but cold enough to wear gloves and a jacket. He shut his eyes and took in the glorious silence calming his mind and soul. 

"My God Richard, what are you wearing?!?" a far too familiar voice screeched.

_So much for peace and quiet_, Richard thought. He sighed and opened his eyes. "Hello Emily," he greeted dully.

"Where did you get that wretched shirt? And jeans? A man of your status never wears jeans!"

Richard stood up and dusted off the small snowflakes that had fallen on his flannel shirt. "I bought it Emily. I need a shirt to wear and theses are comfortable and keep you moderately warm, so I bought one. As for the jeans, Rory bought them for me ages ago."

"You look ridiculous. You look like…"

"Luke?"

"I was going to say like a hillbilly, but that'll do too."

"What are you doing here Emily?"

"I should ask you the same thing. You and Rory ran off last night just before dinner and came here! I was sitting at the dinner table by myself with a dinner for three."

"Lorelai and Luke asked us to have dinner with them to celebrate their engagement."

"What? Why wasn't I invited?"

"Quite frankly, I don't care. You would be invited to the dinner if you hadn't been so rude to Luke or purposely sent Max Medina to that restaurant so he'd ruin the proposal. You need to rethink your priorities Emily. And I'm not going to stick around and wait for you to figure them out."

"Richard…"

"Excuse me, I am going to go inside now. It's getting quite cold out here."

Richard went inside and Emily followed. "Richard. Richard! Don't you walk out on me when I'm talking to you. Richard!"

Lorelai's head shot up when she heard her mother's voice. What was she doing there? She followed the arguing to the foyer where her parents were getting into another argument. Richard stormed away from Emily.

"What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked in an annoyed tone.

"You didn't come to dinner last night," Emily replied.

"Luke and I were busy."

"Hosting Rory and your father."

"Yes. We hosted a dinner for Rory and Dad at the house. Let me guess, you're wondering why you weren't asked to come."

"I'm your mother Lorelai."

"You were rude to Luke. He tried to be nice and spare me the details, but I coaxed Rory and Dad into telling me. How could you mother? How could you tell Max Medina to show up and ruin Luke's proposal? Luke loves me. He loves Rory."

"I just want what's best for you."

"Luke is what's best for me. He's perfect. You always teased me about him and now that it's finally happening, you hate it! God mother, why can't you make up your mind? Why can't you be happy for me? Why have you _never_ been happy for me?"

"I…I…"

"Whatever. I have to go. I have an inn to run and a wedding to plan." Luke and Richard could hear the yelling and made their way to the foyer.

"Lorelai, please! Just…just give me a chance…"

"No! I don't want to give you a chance. I'm happy mother. I am happy! I'm not going to waste my time by trying to make you happy and listen to your sorry excuse of an apology if you're not going to try to make me happy. Just leave me alone! Don't call, don't visit. Don't come to my wedding! I don't need you there. I've never needed you!"

Tears began to form in Emily's eyes. Pretty soon, they began to fall. She wasn't the only one crying. Lorelai had gotten so emotional (and upset), she began crying but she continued to yell.

"Your damn pride is keeping you from being happy for me! If you just got your nose out of the damn air, you'd realize how stupid you're acting! I hate that you're doing this to me Mom. You're hurting me and you don't even care! I hate it! I hate it!"

Luke ran over to Lorelai. "Lorelai. Lorelai, that's enough," he said as he held her.

"No. She just keeps pushing me away and I'm tired of it! She pushed me too far this time!"

"I understand that, ok? You just need to calm down before you completely lose yourself."

"I was never good enough. I'll never be good enough," Lorelai cried into Luke's shoulder.

"Richard, I'm going to take her to her office. Do you think you can handle things out here?"

"Yes, go take care of Lorelai." Luke took Lorelai to her office to calm her down while Richard stayed in the foyer, staring in disgust at Emily. "I hope you're happy Emily. You made your own daughter cry."

"She made me cry too Richard!" Emily shouted.

"If you hadn't blown this out of proportion, you wouldn't be crying now would you?"

"Did you hear how she spoke to me?"

"Yes, yes I did."

"She doesn't want me at her wedding Richard. My own daughter doesn't want me to be there when she gets married."

"Emily! You have done nothing but criticize her life and demean the man that loves her deeply. I hope now you understand how much Lorelai loves Luke. I will not stand for your behavior. My daughter deserves to happy and by God Emily, she will be! I'll be damned if I let anyone stand in her way! It's time for you to get your priorities straight! It's either your pride or your family."

* * *

**A/N: I had something else planned for the end of this chapter, but I decided to go with this one. I hope you like it. I know I've been making Emily come off mean and stuff, but don't worry. She's not gonna be like this the whole fic. As for Logan and Rory, I might go down a different path on this one.**


	9. May the Best Man win

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 9**

Luke rolled his eyes as he listened to TJ, Jackson, and Bootsy argue. Why any of them assumed they would be his best man boggled his mind. Although, it did amuse him to watch TJ try to kick Bootsy as Jackson put him in a head lock and Bootsy pull at Jackson's leg, trying to get him to fall. It was so amusing he had Caesar snap a few shots before they realized how ridiculous they looked or they broke something, which ever came first.

"Hey Luke, do you have a minute?" Kirk asked as he approached the counter.

"Yeah, but make it quick. I think Jackson's going to body slam Bootsy," Luke joked.

"I wanted to give you this." Kirk handed Luke a piece of paper.

"What's this?"

"It's my application for the position as your best man, complete with references and…"

"Ok, ok. I'll look at it later and get back to you tomorrow. Hey, how well do you wrestle?"

"I'm not good at all. Why?"

"Because your head is gonna be under Jackson's arm tomorrow. Hey boys! We got another challenger in the running for best man position!"

TJ, Jackson, and Bootsy turned and stared at Kirk. The looks on their faces said 'fresh meat.' "Uh oh," Kirk said. He ran out of the diner with the other three men hot on his trail.

"Why are you doing that?" Liz asked from the table she was at with Lorelai and Sookie.

"Doing what?" Luke asked innocently.

"You're stringing those guys on."

"I am not. I never said I was going to pick one of them to be my best man."

"So why are you letting them beat each other up?"

"I needed some entertainment."

"I'm glad to know you find humor in other people's pain."

"Oh no!" Sookie gasped.

"What?" Liz asked.

"Jackson just tackled Bootsy into a rose bush."

"Luke, you have to pick someone before they kill each other," Lorelai chimed in.

"There goes TJ. He tried to tackle Kirk and hit one of those newspaper dispensers. Jackson's back up. Run Kirk, run!" Sookie said as she stared out the window.

"Why do these guys want to be my best man anyway? I think TJ's crazy, no offense Liz. I barely know Jackson, I hate Bootsy, and I used to beat Kirk up when we were kids," Luke remarked.

"I guess they like you beside the fact you're a grump," Lorelai said.

"They're headed for Doose's. I can't see what happens if they head to Doose's!" Sookie cried.

"I'm not picking any of those four loons to be my best man. I'll figure it out sooner or later," Luke said.

"It better be before the wedding," Liz teased. "Hey, are you inviting Paul and Jim?"

"No."

"What about Marc?"

"No."

"Who's Marc?" Lorelai asked.

"He's our cousin. He used to live in Stars Hollow and was best friends with Luke," Liz explained.

"Liz, that's enough," Luke said.

"How come I never heard of him?" Lorelai asked.

"It doesn't matter. I haven't spoken to him since he left the Hollow after high school."

"Oh my God Luke, I just figured out who you _have_ to invite," Liz remarked. "The Colonel."

"The Colonel? Are you crazy?!? I am _not _inviting the Colonel!"

"Who's that?" Lorelai asked.

"My you're full of questions today. The Colonel was Dad's youngest brother. Liz, if I'm not going to invite Marc, what in the world makes you think I'm going to invite his father?"

"The Colonel is going to find out about the wedding and when he does, he's going to wonder why he wasn't invited. I know for a fact that'll be one confrontation you'll want to avoid."

"I'm not inviting the Colonel or Marc or Paul and Jim. I'm not inviting any of them. Buddy and Mazie, I will invite."

"He'll definitely find out if you invite them."

"You know Luke, you haven't told me who you _are_ inviting from your family," Lorelai remarked.

"Easy. None of them."

"You're not inviting the family? You have to invite them!" Liz said.

"Why?"

"Because they're family!"

"They're not going to come. They'll make up some stupid reason not to come and I'll have wasted my time thinking they would."

"They'll come."

"They didn't go to your wedding."

"I don't want to hear Uncle Frank throw a fit because he didn't get an invitation to his favorite nephew's wedding. Besides, I'd have to explain to them why you don't want them there!"

"Uncle Frank is a crazy old man that calls everyone his favorite nephew. How are they going to hear about it anyway?"

"They're going to hear about this. Patty will call them."

"Just invite your family Luke," Lorelai pleaded.

"Invite your mom," Luke said.

"No."

"You don't invite your mom, I don't invite my family."

"That's no fair. Mom's one person."

"My family shares one brain. Even trade."

"Luke."

"I don't need any of them there. The only family I want at the wedding is Liz and TJ. I'm waiting to hear from Jess. Who, by the way, hasn't returned any of the five calls I left him this week. I have to get back to work now." With that, Luke walked into the kitchen.

The bell above the door chimed and Rory walked in. "Hi guys," she greeted.

"Hey Rory," they all replied.

"Hey did you see the chaos out side? Bootsy's in a rose bush, TJ took out a newspaper dispenser, Kirk and Jackson went through a Doose's fruit stand, taking Taylor out with them. Babette says he stepped right into their path and they almost tossed him through a window."

"I better see if Jackson's ok," Sookie said as she stood and headed for the door.

"I'm gonna check on TJ," Liz said, following Sookie out.

"Why don't you sit down kiddo," Lorelai offered.

"Thanks," Rory thanked, sitting down next to her mother.

"You ready to go back to campus?"

"Yeah. All my bags are in the car. Is Lane ready?"

"Yup. She brought her bags in with her this morning and stashed them upstairs. I think it's great that Lane is spending the week with you. It seems like you two never hang out."

"I know. When I'm here, I only see her when I come here."

"You're sure Paris won't mind?"

"She won't I double checked this morning."

"Hey Rory," Luke greeted as he walked out of the kitchen.

"Hey Luke. You missed the Taylor take down," Rory said.

"I did? Damn. Was it good?"

"So I hear. Hey, where's Lane?"

"In the back. Lane! Your ride's here!"

Lane came running out of the back. "Rory! Ok, I just have to get my bags and then we can leave," she said quickly.

"I'll go help," Rory said. She stood and followed Lane upstairs.

A minute later, Taylor came limping into the diner. Luke looked up and tried to contain a laugh. "Nice trot you got there Taylor," Luke teased.

"Don't give me that young man. I know you know what happened to me," Taylor said as he took a seat at the counter.

"Answer me one question Taylor. You saw those guys trying to murder each other. Why in the hell would you walk through them?"

"They were headed straight for the stand! I though I'd try to stop them. Who knew they would be moving so fast or hit so hard?"

"Obviously, not you. You want some coffee Taylor?"

"Yes please."

Luke turned around and prepared a new pot of coffee. He didn't look when the bells above the door chimed again. "Coffee's gonna be a minute."

"Why don't you get some help around this place? The service is slow," whoever walked in said.

"Hey buddy, if you don't like it you can just..." Luke turned around and stopped talking when he saw who walked in.

"Hey there Uncle Luke," Jess smiled.

"Jess," Luke smiled. He put the coffee pot down and ran over to his nephew, giving him a big hug. "I can't believe you're here!"

"I got your messages and headed out here as fast as I could. Hi Lorelai."

"Hello Jess," Lorelai smiled from her table.

"So why are you here?" Luke asked ash he and Jess headed to the counter.

"My uncle's getting married. I had to come," Jess replied.

"The wedding isn't until February."

"I thought I'd stop by for a visit."

Luke took out cups for Taylor and Jess and filled them both with coffee. "For three months?"

"A long visit."

"Where you staying?"

"Uh...in my car."

"What?"

"Mom doesn't know I'm here and I really don't want to stay with TJ anyway."

"Well, I don't want you staying in your car for three months." Luke leaned over the counter so he was closer to Jess and no one could hear him. "I'll talk to Lorelai later and see if I can get you a room at the inn."

"You don't have to do that."

"I want to. You can work here to pay off the bill and so you'll have a few extra bucks."

"Thanks Luke."

"Ok, we're ready to go," Rory announced as she stepped out from behind the curtain with an armful of Lane's bags. She looked up and froze when she saw Jess sitting at the counter.

"Do you want some help Rory?" Luke asked. Rory didn't move or say anything. "Right. Jess, go help Rory with those bags."

"Sure." Jess got up and most of the bags from Rory.

All the while, she stood there, completely still, and watched him. She couldn't believe he was really there. Rory looked at Lorelai, not too sure what she was looking for. Lorelai just smiled. Oh this was going to be very interesting.

* * *

Lorelai walked into the living room and handed Luke a cup of tea. "Thanks," he smiled. 

"You're welcome," Lorelai said. "So, that was one surprise Jess pulled on us today."

"Yeah. Thanks for inviting him to dinner."

"You're welcome. I thought it would be a good idea to catch up with him."

"It was nice wasn't it?"

"Mm hm. Where is he now?"

"He's heading over to see his mom."

"So, did you ask him?"

"Ask him what?"

"To be your best man. And don't say you weren't going to ask him. I know you were. That's why you've been so hesitant to choose from the other four."

"Yeah, I asked," Luke said as he walked into the room and got into bed.

"Oh by the way, if you're wondering, I heard from Sookie. Jackson walked out of the hospital with twelve stitched. Liz said TJ suffered a very mild concussion. And Patty says Kirk is sore, but fine and Bootsy is going to have to sit on one of those doughnut things for a while."

"Wonderful. Hey, I was wondering. Do you think you can get me a room at the inn?"

"Planning a night out with your mistress?"

"It's not for me. It's for Jess. He's staying in his car and I thought he might be able to stay at the inn while he's here. He doesn't feel comfortable staying with Liz and TJ and I don't feel comfortable with him staying in the apartment above the diner."

"Luke, I can't let Jess stay at the inn."

"Lorelai, please. I know you don't like him much, but it would mean a lot to me."

"I'm sorry, but I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I want him to stay with us."

"What?"

"Yeah. That way we won't have to worry about him being uncomfortable and you can keep an eye on him twenty-four hours a day."

"What about Rory?"

"She'll be at school most of the time."

"What about Thanksgiving? And Winter break?"

"Then she'll deal with Jess being here for the few weeks she is. No big deal."

"You're sure about this?"

"Positive. He can stay in the guest room."

"Alright. I'll tell Jess tomorrow."

"Great." They turned off their lights and laid down. "Hey Luke."

"Yeah?"

"Do you know what's an interesting type of music?"

"What?"

"Country."

"Country?"

"Yeah. I think it's pretty cool. What about you?"

"I guess it is."

"Yeah. And Gary Allen. He's pretty good."

"You think so?"

"Yeah. Well, good night sweetie."

"Night." Luke lay awake for a while longer, trying to figure out what Lorelai was hinting. He came to a conclusion. First thing tomorrow, he would go see Patty.


	10. Making up is hard to do

**Disclaimer: I do not own nor am I in any association with the Gilmore Girls.**

**Chapter 10**

Luke held the diner door open for Patty as she stepped inside. "I just want to thank you again Patty. I really appreciate this," Luke said.

"Oh honey, don't worry about it! You've always been so good at it. I'm so glad you decided to give it a try again," Patty smiled. "We'll have to practice at least three times a week. Oh this engagement party is going to be fabulous! The music, the dancing! It'll be the best party this town has ever seen!"

"Well then, I'll be sure to save a dance just for you Patty."

"You're a doll Luke."

"You're throwing the party and doing me this big favor, it's the very least I could do. Why don't you take a seat and I'll get you coffee and a breakfast plate. It's on the house."

As Patty went to sit with Babette to gossip, Jess walked up to his cheerful uncle. "Hey, some lady came in asking for you," he said. "She's over there."

Jess pointed to the table in the corner of the room. The woman's back was turned toward them and Luke couldn't see who it was. He made his way over to her and froze when he realized who it was. The woman turned when she heard Luke approaching.

"Hello Luke," Emily greeted.

"Mrs. Gilmore," Luke greeted, still in a state of shock.

"I know you're busy, but I was hoping to have a word with you."

"Uh…yeah. We can go upstairs so it's not as loud. Jess! I'll be right back." Luke led Emily upstairs to his old apartment. "Sorry about the mess, I'm still in the process of moving my stuff into the house. Would you like some tea or something?"

"Oh no. I'm fine. And please, call me Emily."

"Ok." Luke stood in the middle of the room. He wasn't sure what he was supposed to do or say now.

"I'm just going to get straight to the point. I came here to apologize to you Luke. I've had time to think these past two weeks and I've finally come to realize how foolish I've been acting. I said things I really shouldn't have and I want to apologize."

"Thank you Emily. I appreciate the apology."

"Oh and before I forget, I wanted to give this to you." Emily handed Luke an album. "It's a wedding album. I've kept it since Lorelai was a little girl. It has ideas of what I thought Lorelai's wedding would be like. I was hoping you would give it to Lorelai for me."

Luke flipped through the pages of the album. "This is gorgeous. I think it would mean so much more if you gave it to her personally."

"It would be, but she still isn't speaking to me. I've called several times and she refuses to talk to me."

"She's going to get over it. I'm sure she will."

"Yes. Well, just in case. Please give it to her."

"I will. She'll love it."

"Well, I won't keep you any longer. It was nice seeing you Luke." Emily turned to leave, but stopped when she spotted a picture on the table on the door. It was one of Luke, Lorelai, and Rory and Rory was holding up some kind of paper. She looked as if she was twelve or thirteen. "What's this?"

"That? Oh, that was Rory's junior high graduation. For weeks, she ran into the diner every morning and told me how happy she was because her dad was going to come to town for the ceremony. The day before the graduation, Rory comes in with her mom all bummed out. Lorelai tells me that Rory's dad bailed out on her and wouldn't be coming. So the next day I put on my only suit, tell Caesar to run things until I got back, and went to the ceremony."

"You wouldn't happen to have a copy of this would you?"

"Yeah, I have one right here." Luke opened one of the drawers and handed Emily a copy of the picture.

"Thank you. I've kept you long enough, so I'll be going now."

"I'll walk you out." Luke led Emily back to the diner. On the way to the door, they ran into Jess. "Oh Emily, you remember my nephew Jess Mariano. Jess, you know Emily."

"Hey," Jess greeted.

"Hello young man," Emily greeted in return. "Thank you again for the picture Luke."

"You're welcome. Drive safe." With that, Emily left. Luke looked down at the album in his hands and realized it was time for Lorelai to forgive and forget.

* * *

"_In Stars Hollow, temperatures continue drop to an even forty degrees as the snow continues to fall in the earliest snow fall in years," _the radio announcer said. 

"Can you believe that Luke? Snow hitting the ground instead of leaves. I never thought we'd have snow in mid-November," Lorelai remarked.

"Yeah, it's amazing," Luke said as he walked into the living room with a bowl of popcorn. "Jess! We're about to start the movie! Get down here!"

"I'll be there in a minute," Jess yelled from his room upstairs.

"While we wait, I wanna give you this." Luke handed Lorelai the album from Emily.

Lorelai went through the album. "This is gorgeous," she said.

"That's what I said."

"Where did you get it?"

"It was a gift."

"From who?"

"Your mother." Lorelai shut the album. "Lorelai, it's a beautiful album. The ideas in there would be perfect."

"No. I don't want to use any ideas from that woman."

"She's your mother."

"Only biologically." Luke gave her a warning look. "I'm not going to stand for what she said to and about you."

"She apologized. She came to the diner today and apologized."

"What?"

"Lorelai, my mother died when I was a kid. I didn't get to really know her. If I had the chance to spend time with her, I would take it in a heartbeat. I would give anything to have her at my wedding and help plan it. You have that opportunity. Please, for me. Can you make peace with your mother?"

Lorelai looked into Luke's eyes and realized how much it meant to him. She was about to speak, but was interrupted when Jess joined them.

"So, what are we watching today?" Jess asked.

"_The Untouchables,_" Luke replied, dropping the previous subject with Lorelai.

Lorelai sat quietly as the movie started to play. She thought about what Luke had said and realized what she needed to do.

* * *

The next day, Lorelai walked up to the door and waited for what seemed like an eternity for someone to answer. The door swung open and Lorelai stood face to face with Emily. "Lorelai," Emily smiled. 

"Hello mother," Lorelai greeted. "May I come in?"

"Of course. Come in, come in." Emily stepped aside and let Lorelai in. "So, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Luke told me you came to the diner yesterday."

"He did?"

"Yes. He also told me he gave him this." Lorelai pulled the wedding album from her bag and held it out to Emily.

Emily was heart broken. She had to convince Lorelai to keep the album, even if she didn't use the ideas in it. "Oh no. Keep it Lorelai, please. I wanted you to have that."

"I know. I was just..." Lorelai took a deep breath before continuing. "I wanted you to hold on to it for me. For a little while. I mean, just until Luke's here so we can go over a few of the wedding plans...together."

"Together?"

"Yeah. I was thinking...hoping you would consider helping us with the details."

"So does that mean..."

"Luke helped me realize that I'm lucky to still have my mom. I really want you to be at my wedding. _Luke_ wants you at our wedding. It would mean a lot to us if you helped us with the arrangements."

"I would be glad to."

"Great. So I'll see you on Friday?"

"What's Friday?"

"Dinner."

"Oh. Yes. Friday night at seven. Oh and tell Luke to bring his nephew along."

"Jess?"

"Yes. Tell Luke to bring Jess. I'd love to have him over."

"Uh...ok. I'll do that. Bye Mom."

"Lorelai," Emily called before Lorelai walked out of the door. "I'm sorry."

"I know Mom. I know. I'm sorry too. Sometimes, saying 'I'm sorry' just isn't enough. But that," Lorelai said, pointing to the album in Emily's hands. "That says it all. So, all's good in Whosville?"

Emily laughed. "Yes. All is well." Lorelai left and once she did, Emily rushed over to the pool house. She knocked on the door and waited for Richard to answer.

"Emily?" Richard said, surprised to see tears running down Emily's face. "Emily, what's the matter?"

"She wants me at the wedding," Emily smiled. "She came to the house and said she wants me to be at the wedding."

She couldn't contain herself. She wrapped her arms around Richard and hugged him tightly. He couldn't help but smile and return her hug.

* * *

Rory hurried down the hall as she headed to her dorm. She left Lane and Paris alone together while she went to class and who knows what they had done to each other. As she turned the corner, she ran into something, more like some_one_, solid. She immediately bent down to gather her books she had dropped that were now scattered with the other person's. 

"I'm sorry about that. I wasn't looking where I was going," Rory apologized.

"Don't worry about it," a very familiar voice said. Rory froze. Oh no. It can't be. She looked up and confirmed her horrified suspicion. "Hey Ace."

"Logan," Rory greeted bitterly. She tried to walk past him, but he stopped her. "What are you doing?"

"We need to talk," Logan said.

"Not now. I need to get back to my dorm. I left Lane and Paris alone and one of them might be dead when I get there."

"We _have_ to talk."

"I'm not in the mood."

"This'll only take a minute."

"Fine, but I'm timing you."

"I'm sorry for trying to pay off that Max guy. I didn't mean to upset you so I'm sorry."

"And?"

"And what? I said I was sorry."

"If you think just saying sorry will fix everything, you've got a lot to learn. You're minutes up. I have to go." Rory pushed past Logan and headed to her dorm.

"I don't get you Rory. I said I was sorry."

"You don't get it do you?"

"Obviously not."

"Well until you do, leave me alone."

"Just tell me what I did wrong."

"I can't just tell you what you did wrong. If I did, you'll never learn."

"I can learn not to do it again if you tell me!"

Rory stopped angrily and faced Logan. "You embarrassed me."

"What?"

"You embarrassed me and my parents in front of my mother's ex-fiancé."

"How?"

"You flaunted your money in his face! That embarrasses me and my family. You made us a charity case."

"I don't see that."

"You don't need to. I saw it and it was embarrassing!"

"Well I'm sorry for that too!"

"Whatever." Rory continued on. Logan grabbed her by the arm, stopping her from walking out on him. "Let me go."

"Not until we settle this. I thought I was doing the right thing and now I know it was wrong. I'm sorry I was born privileged and with money."

"Privileged? Privileged is having a mother like mine who never needed money to raise me or make me happy. Privileged is having parents like mine who drop everything and give anything for me. That is privileged. No. You were born spoiled and that is what you'll be until the day you die!"

"So what? You want me to say I'm sorry for being rich?"

"No! I want you to be sorry for acting the way you are!"

"Then I'm sorry!"

"It doesn't work that way Logan! You can't just say sorry and expect me to believe it."

"I'm trying here."

"Then try from your heart."

Logan took a deep breath. "I'm sorry Rory. I really am. I'm sorry for acting like a spoiled rich kid and for embarrassing you."

"You'll never learn," Rory sighed. "Goodbye Logan."

With that, Rory left Logan in the middle of the path alone. "Great. Now what do I do?" he asked himself.

* * *

**A/N: **I was planning to get Logan and Rory back together, not that they really broke up, but I decided to throw in a twist with Jess. I'll see where it takes the story. 


	11. Dinner at the Gilmores

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 11**

Logan parked his car in the first parking spot he saw. He had just gotten into town and he'd already seen half of it. He looked around at the place Rory had grown up. The place called Stars Hollow. She had left campus early because her afternoon classes had been cancelled, so he decided to surprise her to try begging for forgiveness one more time. He walked down the street. God he needed coffee. He scanned the area for a place that looked like it would serve coffee. Logan spotted Luke's Diner across the street and hurried over. He walked inside and sat down at the counter as he waited to be served.

Jess spotted the little rich boy sitting at the counter and rolled his eyes. With his ordering pad in hand, he walked over to him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"Coffee," Logan replied.

"Anything else?"

"No. Just coffee." Jess put a cup on the counter and poured Logan some coffee. "Thanks. Hey, you wouldn't happen to know…"

"Caesar, I'm taking my break," Jess said, interrupting Logan. He grabbed his jacket and walked out of the diner.

"What a rude jerk," Logan mumbled to himself. He finished his coffee, put money on the counter, and left. As he turned the corner, he bumped into someone.

"Ah jeez," Luke said as he dropped the papers in his hands. He bent over and gathered all his papers.

"I'm sorry about that sir. I didn't see you," Logan apologized.

"Don't worry about it." Luke looked up and looked at Logan. He was _definitely _an out of towner, no doubt a rich kid. "Just watch where you're going next time."

"I will." With a nod, Logan was off. He had just enough time to stop by a local place, grab some flowers, and head on over to Rory's house. He spotted some flowers outside a place called Doose's and grabbed a few. As he paid for the flowers, he spotted the bag boy. There was something familiar about him. Logan swore he had seen him before. Dean stared back at the man buying the flowers and thought the same thing. After getting the flowers, Logan headed for the Gilmore residence.

* * *

_Minutes before Logan arrives…_

Jess walked up to the house and took out his key. He went straight to his room and went to get the book he had come for. Right as he headed up the stairs, Rory pulled into the driveway. She got out of her car and walked in from the back. Just as she walked in, Jess walked out, missing each other by mere seconds.

As Jess headed down the porch steps, he looked up to see the rich kid from earlier. "Hey," he greeted in his usual monotone voice. Logan just stared at him. "Right." Jess moved past Logan and headed back to the diner.

Logan couldn't believe it. Rory was home, alone, with another man. The diner guy at that! How could she! He felt foolish. He turned on his head and headed back down the path before he made a complete fool of himself. He was half way down the path when Rory walked out the front door.

"Logan?" she called. Logan stopped and faced her. "What are you doing here?" He said nothing. Rory spotted the flowers in Logan's hand. "Are those for me?"

"Who was that?" Logan asked.

"Who was who?"

"Don't act dumb Rory. I saw that guy walk out of the house. The guy from the diner." Rory tried to figure out what Logan was talking about. She had just spoken to Luke."Fine. Act like that. I'm leaving." Logan dropped the flowers and headed back down the path. He stopped after a few steps and faced Rory again. "I can't believe you. I came to apologize to you only to find out you're cheating on me with some townie! No wonder you won't let me meet your parents. Diner boy's already got their blessing!"

"I'm not seeing a townie! I'm not cheating on you!"

"Then who was that guy?"

"I don't know!"

"So strange men just walk in and out of your house?"

"It wouldn't be the first time."

"Well when you figure out who the hell that was and what you want, give me a call. Otherwise, goodbye and good riddance." Rory watched as Logan left. She wasn't sure what had just happened, but Logan may have just broken up with her.

* * *

Rory walked into the diner and headed straight for the counter. She saw Jess headed toward her and before she knew it, he was dragging her off to the side. "What are you doing? Jess, let go of me," Rory said. 

"Are they behind me?" he asked.

"Who?"

"Luke and your mom. Are they behind me?"

"No. Why?"

"I walked in on them."

"So?"

"I walked in on them," Jess said slowly, emphasizing every word.

"Oh. Oh! Ew! When? How? Ew!"

"Yeah. I was getting something in the storage room and...there they were. Man, I'm never going to look at pancakes the same way again."

"I don't even want to know."

"I wish I didn't." Just then, Luke walked out of the storage room buttoning up his shirt with Lorelai right behind him. They paused when they saw Jess. "Hey," Jess greeted, not looking at Luke or Lorelai in the eye.

"Hey," Luke greeted awkwardly. "Hey Rory."

"Hi Luke," Rory said, trying not to laugh. "Hi Mom."

"Hey sweetheart. Oh, did I tell you about dinner?" Lorelai asked.

"What dinner?"

"We're going up to Hartford tonight for Friday night ."

"You made up with Grandma?" Lorelai nodded. "Yay! I'm glad you did."

"Me too."

"Have a fun time with the in-laws," Jess teased. "Too bad I won't have to witness it."

"Oh but you don't have miss it. You're going," Luke stated.

"What?"

"Emily has a thing for re-meeting people. Go home, shower, and wear something nice. Dinner's at seven." Luke looked over his shoulder and saw Jess standing there. "What are you waiting for? I said get ready for dinner."

"Now?"

"No tomorrow. Yes now!"

"Alright. Don't have a heart attack." Jess went to get his jacket from the back.

"I should get home too. I have to get ready if we're going to be on time," Rory said.

"Ok sweetie. We'll see you in an hour," Lorelai said.

Rory and Jess left the diner at the same time. "Hey Lorelai, you told Rory Jess is staying with us right?" Luke asked.

"Of course I...uh oh."

* * *

Rory and Jess headed down the street together. "So you're back," she said attempting to make conversation. 

"Yeah. I wanted to spend some time with Luke before the wedding," Jess remarked.

"How's that going?"

"It's ok. We're going fishing Monday."

"Luke taught me how to fish once. Well, he tried to at least."

"Didn't work out huh?"

"Not really. I kept making mistakes. I think I'm getting better at it though."

"Cool." They walked silently the rest of the way to the house.

They both turned into the path to the house, shocking Rory. "What are you doing?"

"Going inside."

"Why?"

"Because I'm staying here."

"What?"

"Your mom offered me the guest room so I wouldn't have to live in my car for three months. Is that a problem?"

"No. No problem." Rory opened the door and walked in. She was going to _kill_ her mom when she got home.

* * *

"Be on your best behavior," Luke said as they all got out of the Jeep. 

"Ok," Jess replied.

"I'm serious Jess. No messing around. Be courteous, mind your manners, and watch your mouth. No smart ass remarks or profane words. And nothing about the diner."

"Why not?"

"Because it's rustic. And no truck talk either."

"Why? Is it antique?"

"No. Well, yeah. But no. Just don't talk about the damn truck. Oh and when they ask you what you want to drink, don't say beer. No beer tonight. It's nitwit juice." Luke rang the doorbell. "And fix your tie."

The door opened and they were greeted by the new maid. After handing their coats to the maid, they went into the living room where Emily was waiting for them.

"Oh, you're here!" she said excitedly. "Richard! They're here!"

"Grandpa's here?" Rory asked.

"Ah, there you all are," Richard smiled as he entered the room.

"Dad? What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"Tonight is a very special night Lorelai. My only daughter is getting married and officially announcing her engagement and bringing her fiancé to the family. It's proper procedure that I attend this momentous dinner."

"But you already know we're getting married."

"Yes I know, but now it's official."

"So it wasn't for the past two weeks?"

"Lorelai, there are certain ways things are done. Tonight Luke Danes is introduced to the Gilmore family as your fiancé. And now it is official."

"I still don't get it."

"You don't have to. Now, we've tried this once before. Let's see if we can get it right this time. And who would this young man be?"

"Oh. Richard, this is my nephew Jess Mariano. Jess, this is Lorelai's father Richard Gilmore," Luke introduced.

"Hey," Jess greeted. Luke elbowed Jess in the side. "I mean hello Mr. Gilmore."

"Hello Jess," Richard greeted, extending his hand to the young man. Luke gave Jess a look and Jess shook Richard's hand. "Nice to meet you young man."

"I hope no one minds, but tonight we're going to have dinner first," Emily said.

"No drinks?" Lorelai whined.

"Drinks will be served after dinner," Richard sighed. "Come on, dinner is almost ready."

"Now that is the dad I remember," Lorelai whispered jokingly to Rory as they followed Richard and Emily to the dining room.

Behind them, Luke was whispering to Jess too. "You better quit," Luke whispered.

"What I do?" Jess asked.

"You don't say 'hey' to a man like Richard Gilmore! I told you not to be rude."

"I think that baseball cap permanently cut off the oxygen supply to your brain."

* * *

After dinner, they all retreated to the living room for drinks. "And now for the moment Lorelai has been waiting for," Richard joked. "What can I get everyone to drink?" 

"Gin martini," Lorelai. Rory, and Emily replied at the same time.

"Martinis for the ladies," Richard laughed. "Luke, would you like a beer?"

"I'll have whatever you're having."

"Whiskey it is. Jess, can I fix you a drink?"

"A be...I'll have whiskey too," Jess replied, remembering what Luke said about beer.

Richard returned with a tray of drinks for everyone. He took his glass and sat down. "So Jess, I hear you lived with Luke a couple of years ago," he remarked.

"I did. When I was seventeen, my mom shipped me off to live with her big brother Luke in Stars Hollow." Luke shook his head at Jess's response.

"You don't call Luke 'uncle'?"

"I asked him not to," Luke chimed in.

"Are you in college?" Richard asked.

"Yes," Jess replied.

"You are?" Luke, Lorelai, and Rory asked at the same time.

"I was accepted into UCLA last year. I'm on a partial scholarship from the company I work for."

"Where do you work?" Emily asked.

"Wal-Mart. While I'm in town I'm going to be working for Luke."

"Luke, your nephew is a charming young man." Lorelai sighed. She had to call him _charming. _"Is something wrong Lorelai?"

"No Mom," Lorelai smiled. "Well as fun as this has been, we really need to be going. Luke has a...thing to do in the morning."

"What are you...ow! What was that for?" Luke yelled when Lorelai stomped on his foot. She gave him a look, pleading him to get them out of there. "Oh! That thing. Yeah. I have a...thing...in the morning."

"Then we should call it a night. We can't have you late for your _thing_," Richard said. They all stood to say goodbye.

"This was a wonderful evening," Emily commented. "I'm so glad you all came."

"It was nice being here. We should do it again sometime," Luke said. He grunted when Lorelai stomped on his foot again. "We should go."

* * *

"What the hell is wrong with you?!?" Luke yelled once the front door was shut. "Why did you keep stomping on my foot?" 

"I was _trying_ to get us out of there. And what was with that 'we should do this again' crap? We are _not_ doing this again!"

"I was trying to be polite. You could have just said 'Luke, I'd like to leave now.' You didn't have to dig you six inch heel into my foot! I can barely feel it. You're driving home!"

"Oh give it a rest you big baby."

"Six inch heels!"

"_I'll _drive," Rory said, snatching the keys from Luke. "Get in the car and no fighting."

They all climbed into the Jeep. Luke and Lorelai sat in the backseat and Rory and Jess in the front.

"She started it," Luke mumbled.

"Did not," Lorelai retorted.

"Did too!"

"Hey! Don't make me come back there," Jess warned. He faced forward again and turned on the radio as Rory began to drive. "Kids, go figure."


	12. The return of the exs

**A/N:** **Just for the record, the episode "Swan Song" did happen. Emily is being Emily and trying to make it seem as if she really does like Jess, but her feelings towards him are exactly what she expressed in that episode. She just doesn't want to screw things up with Lorelai again.**

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 12**

Lorelai hurried into the living room. She was already late _and_ Luke wasn't with her. The quicker she got into that room, the quicker the lecture would pass. "Hi Mom," Lorelai greeted. "I'm sorry I'm late. The inn was..." Lorelai was silenced when she saw a familiar face sitting on the couch next to Emily.

"You're late," Emily said as she stood. "When one makes an appointment, one should be there on time."

"No coffee...inn busy." She was too distracted to make a complete sentence.

"Where is your fiancé?"

"Huh?"

"Your fiancé. You know, the man you plan to marry. He's the guy living with you."

"Busy...no coffee."

"Honestly Lorelai, your manners are appalling. Do try to make a complete sentence. I'd like you to meet Rachel. She's a photographer. Rachel, this is my daughter Lorelai."

"Hello," Rachel greeted. She was just as shocked to see Lorelai as Lorelai was to see her.

"Hi," was all Lorelai could get out.

The doorbell rang and a minute later, Luke ran into the room. "Sorry I'm late," he said. "The diner was busy and we ran out of coffee. And that nephew of mine is no help at all. He just sat there. Lazy son of a...ah! Jesus Christ!" Luke yelled when he saw Rachel.

"What's the matter?" a concerned Emily asked. "Are you ok Luke?"

"Yeah, I just saw my life flash before my eyes."

"Oh. Rachel, this is my daughter's fiancé, Luke Danes. Rachel is a photographer."

"Hi Luke," Rachel greeted.

"Hey," Luke said.

"Where is Richard He knew you'd be here by now. Where is that man? I'll be right back, I'm going to get him." Emily left the room.

"Guess who I spoke to today," Luke stated as he took off his jacket.

"Who?" Lorelai asked.

"My cousin Randy and Barbra. They've got the kid that plays rugby. They wanted to know if I knew a good place to stay while they're in town for the wedding."

"They're already thinking about reserving a place?"

"They need to since they're coming up next weekend. Oh and they're not the only ones. No, no, no. They're all coming."

"What?"

"Each and everyone of those nut jobs are coming to Stars Hollow this weekend for our wedding that is in _three months_! I told you inviting them was a bad idea."

"Ok. We can handle this. All we need to do is put them somewhere for...three months."

"No, all we need to do is get them the hell away from us. Lorelai, Cousin Frannie's planning on coming."

"And why is that bad?"

"She wants to bring Petey with her and the damn thing hasn't learned any new words. I'm not putting up with three months of 'Gorgeous Petey. Gorgeous Petey'."

"God that's disturbing. But if they're planning to come already..."

"Gorgeous Petey. Gorgeous Petey!"

"Luke, stop..."

"GORGEOUS PETEY!!!!"

"Ok, ok! I'll put them in the inn and _you_ will tell them they could only stay for the engagement party. Whoever doesn't have a permanent place to stay will have to go home and come back for the wedding. I'm so excited. I get to meet your family!"

"I'm sure they'll like you. I told them about you. Paul and Jim got you a fishing pole and tackle box. Cousin Steve already has your name in the family tree. And I'm sure the rest of them have gifts for you."

"Feel honored Lorelai, he never lets anyone meet his family," Rachel teased.

"You met my dad once," Luke said.

"For two seconds. Then you pushed me out of the hardware store."

"It was dangerous. Things fall."

"You've never let anyone meet your family?" Lorelai asked.

"I was always afraid they'd scare off my girlfriend. It happened with the first few. But you wanted to meet them so you're meeting them."

"Thank you Luke."

"You're welcome." Luke gave Lorelai a kiss on the lips. "Just promise me one thing."

"Anything."

"Promise me you won't leave me for a sock guy."

"Of course not. I'm more of a belt kinda gal."

"Lorelai."

"I promise I'll never leave you. You're turn."

"I'll never leave you. You couldn't get rid of me if you tried."

"You said we would discuss it on Friday when they came over for dinner," Richard said as he and Emily walked into the room.

"Friday night dinner is most certainly not the time to discuss wedding plans," Emily stated. "Do you expect them to run back and forth between the pool house and the main house each time one of us says something?"

"Let's just get this over with. I have a meeting in half an hour. Hello Rachel."

"Hello Mr. Gilmore, it's nice to see you again," Rachel greeted.

"You too. So, what were you all talking about before we walked in?" Richard asked as he sat down.

"My family's coming to town and we're figuring out what we're going to do," Luke replied.

"You know, we haven't met much of your family. We would love to meet your parents. Do you think they could join us for lunch sometime?"

Luke bit his lip and lowered his head. "Dad, don't," Lorelai pleaded.

"Lorelai, your father and I just want to meet Luke's mother and father," Emily said. "It's proper that we meet your future in-laws."

"You can't meet my parents," Luke blurted out.

"I beg your pardon?" Richard asked, stunned by Luke's outburst. He put his glass down and leaned forward. "And why not Luke?"

"Dad, please. Don't push this," Lorelai pleaded.

"I want to know why Luke does not want us to meet his parents!" Richard yelled as he jumped out of his seat.

"Because they're dead," Luke said. "My mother died when I was young and it's been about sixteen years since I lost my father."

The anger in Richard faded and he sat down. "I'm sorry."

"I'm sorry about your parents Luke," Emily said. She needed to change the subject and fast. "So, have you seen Rachel's portfolio? I've seen it. It is beautiful."

"I'm pretty sure we'll hire her," Luke remarked.

"And what makes you so sure?" Lorelai asked. "Luke, we have four other candidates."

"One. We have _one_ other candidate."

"I'm pretty sure we have four."

"No. We have one. Kirk."

"What about the guy before him?"

"He hit on Rory."

"The guy before him?"

"He hit on you."

"What about the first guy?"

"He hit on me. I'm not letting some guy that hits on you, Rory, and especially me to be taking pictures at our wedding. All we'll get are butt shots."

"I like your butt."

"Ah jeez. Do you really want to see Kirk's stuff again? Especially _that _picture?"

"Oh God no! I saw it twice!"

"What picture?" Emily asked.

"Kirk, the other photographer, had a picture and it was…"

"He was naked," Luke interrupted.

"He wasn't naked. He was wearing a Speedo."

"Well hey, if you want to show your mother naked Kirk, be my guest."

"Rachel, you're hired."

"Thank you," Rachel laughed.

"I feel bad about the 'meet the in laws' situation," Luke remarked. "You guys have been so great, you should meet someone. There has to be someone. Lorelai, help me out."

"Liz and TJ?" Lorelai suggested.

"They met them last week. Buddy and Maisy! They practically raised me. They'repractically my parents. Your parents could meet Buddy and Maisy!"

"That's a great idea!" Lorelai smiled. "Why don't you two come to our house Friday and we'll take you to Buddy and Maisy's?"

"We could do that," Emily said. "We'll be at your house Friday at seven."

"Great. Seven it is. Well, we should get going," Luke said. "We have work to do at home."

Luke and Lorelai said their goodbyes and walked outside with Rachel behind them. "So Rachel, when did you get back to Connecticut?" Lorelai asked.

"About a week ago. I had a photo shoot for Yale alumni and your parents were there," Rachel replied. "I didn't think you owned shirts that weren't flannel Luke."

"Very funny," Luke said.

"How long have you two been together?"

"About a year and a half now," Lorelai replied. "Where you headed after the wedding?"

"Actually, I was thinking about moving back to the Hollow. Permanently," Rachel replied.

"Yeah, right," Luke laughed.

"Luke," Lorelai scolded. "Rachel, why don't you have dinner with us tonight?"

"That would be nice," Rachel smiled. "Eight sound good?"

"Eight is perfect. Hey, Michel and Sookie are fine taking care of the inn and Rory won't be home until tonight. Why don't you and I spend sometime together before dinner?"

"Sure."

"Great. Luke, we'll see you at home." Lorelai kissed Luke on the cheek and she and Rachel went to her car before Luke could say anything.

"I really need to start putting my foot down," Luke sighed

* * *

Luke walked into the diner and hung his jacket on the rack behind the counter. When he looked up, he noticed Rory sitting at the counter. "Hey," Luke greeted as he rolled up the sleeves of his dress shirt. "I thought you weren't going to be home until tonight." 

"I decided to come up earlier. Jess and I have work to do," Rory replied. "Where's Mom?"

"Out. With Rachel."

"Rachel? Your ex Rachel?"

"Yup."

"When did you see her?"

"At your grandparents'. She's going to be the photographer for the wedding."

"Weird."

"Tell me about it. She and your mom are out spending time together."

"Hey," Jess greeted as he came downstairs. "How was the thing?"

"Fine." Luke noticed there was half a pot of coffee. "Jess, did you get coffee?"

"Yeah. The dance lady was bugging me so I went and got a few cans. No big deal."

"Thanks."

"Whatever."

"I'll be back. I forgot my wallet in the car," Rory said.

"Not like you pay for the food here anyway," Luke teased. Rory stuck her tongue out at him. He turned around to refill the pot, then heard the bells above the diner door chime. "That was quick. Did you park across the street or something?" He looked up to see Max Medina at the counter. "Hello."

"Oh, hello," Max greeted uncomfortably. "I needed coffee and this was the closest place."

"Coffee's gonna be a minute. Have a seat."

Max sat down at the counter and waited for his coffee. "I wanna apologize about the other night. I didn't know you and Lorelai would be there."

"Don't worry about it."

"Emily Gilmore suggested the restaurant to the faculty for the dinner."

"I know." Luke handed Max his coffee.

"It was a goodbye dinner."

"For who?"

"Me. I taught a class in LA last semester. They offered me a job as a Literature professor so told Chilton. I go back to UCLA and find out they gave someone else the position. By then, Chilton had already found a new teacher and I was suddenly out of a job. I took the first one offered to me."

"Good for you."

"I don't want there to be some kind of weirdness between us because of Lorelai and all. We can still be friends right?"

"We were never friends to begin with."

"We can be though. Right?"

"I guess."

"I mean we're going to run into each other."

"I wouldn't count on it."

"Oh I would. I'm here because I'm moving to Stars Hollow."

"What?"

"I was offered a job at Stars Hollow High." There was an uncomfortable silence between the two men. "So…how's Lorelai?"

"She's fine."

"Good. That's good. Are you two…seeing each other?"

"Kinda. We're engaged."

"Oh. Well, congratulations."

"Thanks." Again, the silence.

"Well I should get going," Max said. "It was nice seeing you and thanks for the coffee." He took out his wallet.

"It's on the house."

"Thank you." Max headed for the door.

"Hey Max," Luke called. "Do you wanna get a beer or something?"

"Right now?"

"Sure."

"But the coffee."

"Don't worry about it. Besides, it was on the house remember?"

"Right. Ok. Let's go."

"I'm gonna get my jacket. I'll meet you outside." Luke disappeared behind the curtain.

Max took a deep breath and headed for the door. Just as he was walking out, Rory was headed back in. They stared at each other awkwardly for a minute.

"Come on," Luke said, putting his hand on Max's shoulder and leading him out. Rory stared in shock as she watched the two men walk down the street.


	13. Happy Birthday Luke!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 13**

Luke stretched as he slowly awoke. He reached for Lorelai, but got a handful of sheets. He opened his eyes and glanced beside him. Lorelai was gone. He looked at the clock beside the bed. Seven o'clock. The latest he had ever slept in. He couldn't help but chuckle to himself. After a few minutes, he finally got out of bed and headed downstairs to the kitchen. There was actually food on the table and he wasn't the one that made it.

"Good morning birthday boy," Lorelai smiled. "I prepared breakfast for you."

"So Caesar brought it over?" Luke teased as he sat at the table.

"I am capable of making breakfast."

"Caesar brought it over. I can see the bags from Luke's."

"Ok, Lane brought food from Luke's. I wanted to do something special for you on your birthday and since you always make me breakfast, I should prepare one for you."

"Well thank you babe, it's beautiful." Luke kissed Lorelai. "Where's Jess?"

"I asked him to run a little errand for me. He's just picking up one of your gifts."

"Gifts? Lorelai, I don't want this to be..."

"I know, I know. You don't want this to be a big deal. And it won't be."

"Just don't over do it."

"I won't. Now eat your breakfast before it gets cold. Then again it's salad so it's already cold. But your tea is going to get cold." Lorelai poured herself some coffee and sat down.

"So what's the plan for the day?"

"Today, we are going to do whatever you want to do."

"Oh really?" Luke asked with a seductive grin.

"We cannot do _that_ all day. How about we go fishing?"

"Fishing sounds great. And by 'we' I suppose you mean I do the actual work while you name everything I catch."

"Duh."

"Is this going to be a spontaneous birthday?"

"You spontaneous? Never. We're having dinner with Liz, TJ, Rachel, and my parents."

"Hey, can I invite someone?"

"Sure. It's your birthday. You can invite anyone you want. So, who is it?"

"Just a friend."

"Does this friend have a name?" Luke mumbled something. "What was that?"

"I said...uh...Max."

"Max who?" He looked up at her and gave her a look like she knew who he was talking about. And in an instant, she did. "Max Medina? You want to invite Max Medina?!?"

"You said I could invite anyone I want! He just moved into town and he doesn't know anyone in town. What's the big deal? So we go out for beers once and a while. So what? You hang out with Rachel."

"You weren't engaged to Rachel! I get it. You're up to something."

"What? No I'm not."

"Yes you are. You wouldn't be so determined to have Max come if you weren't."

"You're crazy."

"And you're up to something."

* * *

"Man this is weird," Rory remarked. 

"Riding in my car?" Jess asked.

"No. Celebrating Luke's birthday. We never celebrate Luke's birthday."

"You've known him for nine years and you've never celebrated his birthday?"

"Nope. I didn't even know when it was."

"You're kidding me."

"Nope. I found out last night when Mom called. Luckily, I had a gift for such an occasion."

"People spring birthdays on you often?"

"No. I just meant I have a gift prepared for Luke."

"In case he sprang his birthday on you."

"You know what? Never mind."

"Alright, alright. I'm sorry. I'm sure you saved something very nice for him."

"What did you get him?"

"Nothing."

"You didn't get your uncle anything for his birthday?"

"I never had to. Luke never celebrated his birthday."

"Never?"

"The last time I even remember calling him to say happy birthday was when I was four."

"Wow. Sixteen years without a 'happy birthday'? That's a long time. Why'd you stop?"

"You know, I don't remember. I think I asked my mom the same question when I was seven or something and she said it made him sad."

"His birthday makes him sad? That's very depressing." Rory stared out the window for a minute. "Jess, stop the car."

"What?"

"Stop the car!" Jess hit the brakes and the car came to a screeching halt. "Come on. We have shopping to do."

* * *

Luke's birthday had been going just as Lorelai had wanted it. Rory and Jess arrived fifteen minutes later than Lorelai anticipated, but there was no damage done. Lorelai thought Rory's appearance would be a great gift for Luke. Then it was off to the fishing hole where Lorelai gave Luke his second gift: a new fishing pole and tackle box. They headed back home to meet up with Richard and Emily. And at seven, they headed to their final destination of the day, Sniffy's Tavern. Liz, TJ, Sookie, Jackson, Buddy, Maisy, Rachel, and Max were already there. A "Happy Birthday Luke" banner hung above their area. 

Luke was now sitting at the head of the table with a gold "Birthday Boy" cardboard crown on his head (regular party hats for everyone else) as the waitresses cleared the table to make room for the cake. The lights were dimmed and the cake was brought out, candles lit and everything. They all sang happy birthday and Luke blew the candles on his cake.

"So how old are you today Luke?" Jess asked.

"Older than you," Luke joked as he cut and handed out the cake.

"He's your uncle and you don't know how old he is?" Rory asked.

"Do you know how old he is?" Jess asked.

"No."

"And you've known him nine years. So there you go."

"No one knows how old my big brother is," Liz chimed in. "With the exception of me, Buddy, Maisy, and I suspect Lorelai, Luke tells no one his age."

"Are you going to solve the mystery for us Luke?" Rachel asked.

"I don't know..." Luke teased.

"Oh come on. Just tell them," Lorelai said.

"Fine. Today, I am thirty eight years old."

"Here's to Luke's thirty eight and may he have many more," Richard toasted.

Everyone raised their glasses and joined in the toast. Lorelai then stood. "If I can have everyone's attention please," she said. Once all eyes were on her, she continued to speak. "As we all know, our Lukey here is a health freak and God knows the stubborn man he is, he will not want to eat this beautiful cake that our dear friend Sookie has made just for him. So I would like to ask you all to join me in assisting me in feeding this man his cake."

"No, no cake," Luke said.

"Come on Luke, it's your birthday, you have to have cake," TJ remarked.

"No, it's..."

"Frosting coated death," everyone said. "We know, we know."

"You know Luke, I knew you would feel that way and I prepared myself for the occasion," Lorelai said. Jackson and Max stood up and headed toward Luke.

"Hey, what are you guys...hey!" Luke yelled as the two other men tied him to his chair.

"I'm sorry sweetie, but this has to be done. Rory, the cake. Now, just think of this as practice for the wedding." Rory handed Lorelai a piece of cake. Lorelai got a piece on the fork and after a little struggle, she finally got it into Luke's mouth.

"Oh no. It's coffee cake," Luke laughed. "And it's good! Can you please untie me now?" Max and Jackson untie Luke. Once he was free, Luke took a piece of cake and turned to Lorelai. "I think this is your piece." He playfully shoved the cake in her face.

Before he knew it, Lorelai shoved a piece of cake in his face. Their guests were laughing at the sight of the engaged couple standing, faces covered in coffee cake.

"I have cake on my new shirt," Luke laughed. "Truce?"

"Truce," Lorelai smiled. Luke pulled Lorelai in for a kiss.

"Mm. This cake is really good," he joked.

Luke and Lorelai went to wash up and when they returned, the presents were brought out. Liz and TJ gave him tickets to the next Renaissance fair they would be at. Rachel and Max both gave flannel shirts. A cook book from Buddy and Maisy. A new set of kitchen utensils from Sookie and Jackson. And a cigar box with cigars from Emily and Richard.

"Ok. Next gift," Luke said.

"Here," Jess said, handing Luke his gift. "It's not much, but…"

"Wow," Luke said as he took baseball jersey out of the box. On the front were the words 'Luke's Diner' and the back had 'Danes' printed across it. "This is…wow. It's great. I love it. Thank you Jess."

"No problem." Jess smiled. Rory brought him to a place where personalized jerseys were made. He had to pay a few extra bucks to have it made that day, but it was worth seeing Luke happy.

"Open mine next," Rory said.

Luke took the box from Rory and opened it. He looked down at the contents of the box and smiled. He put his hand over his mouth in attempt to help him keep his composure and from crying.

"What is it?" Emily asked.

Luke removed the gift and showed it to the group. It was Rory's ceramic hand prints from when she was five with the words above it. "It says, 'To my Daddy. Love Rory'. Thank you," Luke said in a strained voice.

"I've had that for fifteen years. I knew one day I could give it to my dad," Rory said.

She hugged Luke and felt him kiss the top of her head. Lorelai put her arms around them and gave them a squeeze. Seeing the perfect photo op, Rachel snapped a picture of the perfect family.

"Ok, one more gift," Lorelai said as she let go of Luke and Rory. She sat on his lap and handed him another gift.

"You're just going to sit there while I open this?"

"Duh. Read the card first."

Luke did as he was told and read the attached card to himself. "_Very_ dirty," Luke said as he put the card away. He opened the box and pulled out two CDs. "Brooks and Dunn and Big and Rich. Uh...thanks."

Lorelai winked at Rory. "There's more in there."

Luke dug deeper and pulled out baseball cards and a baseball. "Oh my God. This is an mint condition, autographed Lou Gehrig rookie card. Joe Dimaggio, Willie Mays...an autographed Babe Ruth ball! Lorelai, where did you get these?"

"Uncle Louis isn't going to miss them."

"What?"

"Dad had some connections."

"They must have cost a fortune."

"Hey, it's your birthday. I wanted to do a little something for you."

"Thank you honey. I love it."

After a while, everyone began to leave. Richard and Emily walked up to Luke and Lorelai. "We should be going now," Emily said. She gave Luke a hug. "Happy birthday Luke."

"Yes, happy birthday Luke. We really enjoyed meeting Buddy and Maisy," Richard added.

"Thank you for coming," Luke said.

"Emily, I'll meet you outside," Richard said as Emily headed for the door. He pulled an envelope from his jacket pocket and handed it to Luke. "Just a little something for you son. Happy birthday."

"Uh. Thank you," Luke said. He looked in the envelope. "Whoa."

"Dad gives side gifts. And it helps that he likes you," Lorelai teased.

* * *

Luke sat on the porch and stared out into space. He was so lost in his own thoughts, he hadn't realized Lorelai had come outside or sat next to him until she put her hand on his knee. He smiled wearily at her and put his arm around her, pulling her close to him. 

"Smile," she said softly. "It's your birthday. You're supposed to be happy." Luke only pulled her closer. "Didn't you have a good time today?"

"I did," he replied. "Breakfast was delicious. I loved going fishing with you. Dinner was fantastic. And what we did in between those things was unbelievable."

"Then what's wrong?"

"I shouldn't be happy."

"Why not?" Silence. "Luke, talk to me."

"It was sixteen years ago," Luke finally said. "It was sixteen years ago to the date."

"What was?"

"Today is the anniversary of the day my father had a heart attack and was hospitalized. He died two weeks later. It happened on my twenty second birthday. The day I really lost my father was my twenty second birthday. That's why I don't celebrate my birthday."

Two hours later, Luke hugged Lorelai from the back as they lay naked in their bed as they listened to and watched as the rain hit the window. It had stopped snowing a week ago and now it was raining outside.

"I met your father," Lorelai said softly. All she heard was Luke taking in a deep breath. "Luke, did you hear me?"

"I know," Luke replied.

"You know?"

"The night I originally planned to propose to you, the night at the restaurant, you said my dad said something you to about a family tradition. My father died sixteen years ago and I've known you for nine. Nineteen years ago, he came home from repairing something at the Independence Inn for Mia and told me about this maid. She was young, about my age, and was raising a kid all on her own. I didn't know he was talking about you back then, but I do now."

Lorelai smiled and squeezed Luke's arms. They lay in silence the rest of the night. Letting the soft pitter-patter of the rain again the window put them to sleep.

* * *

**A/N: Just to let you in on a little something, there is a reason why Max is in this story and why he and Luke are friends. I mean can you really see these guy getting along on the show if there wasn't a hidden agenda? I think not.**


	14. Meet the Danes and the boy under Rory's ...

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

Chapter 14

Lorelai and Rory stepped into a diner full of Danes. They had arrived a day early and now Luke was busier then anticipated. Lorelai broke free from the family reunion when Rory called about her car breaking down, so Lorelai went to pick her up. "Oh my God," Rory gasped. "Are all these people Luke's relatives?"

"Yes and I have met almost every one of them," Lorelai replied.

"Funny, I thought Luke's family would be in flannel and backwards baseball caps."

"No, but cousin Lew wears pink pumps. He prefers to be called Peaches."

"Disturbing. I see Jess. I'll talk to you later." Rory made her way through the crowd to talk to Jess.

Lorelai spotted Luke and walked over to him. "Hey, flannel man. Got some coffee?"

"Wait your turn," Luke said.

"Hey, I remember this conversation. Should I follow you around the diner and bug you?"

"Not today Lorelai. I'm really busy."

"Aw come on. Play with me. I'll read you your horoscope."

"Later. I got more relatives for you to meet. This is Aunt Gertrude. Her son Jeff. That's Paul and Jim. Oliver is the one in the brown shirt. Next to him is Nancy. That's Ryan, Debbie, Shawn. Craig has the weird looking hat on. And that's Dominic behind Craig. Everyone, this is my fiancé Lorelai Gilmore."

"Hi," Lorelai greeted. "It's nice to meet all of you."

"She's a very beautiful young lady Lucas," Gertrude remarked.

"Isn't she?" Luke smiled.

"We didn't think he'd get married. The only other woman he was really serious with was Rachel," Jeff remarked.

"I thought he was gay for a while," Craig said.

"Oh Craig stop that. He dated pleanty of girls in highschool," Gertrude remarked. "There was that one girl. She was Taylor Doose's niece. What was her name?"

"Oh look Aunt Gertrude!" Luke interrupted. "Frannie's here and she brought Petey!"

"Good Lord, not that infernal bird."

"You dated Taylor's niece?" Lorelai asked with a chuckle as they left the table.

"Why do you think he hates me so much?" Luke replied.

"Oh my God. You're serious."

"I took her out on one date. No one asked her to the Homecoming dance freshman year and I felt bad so I asked her. I bring her home five minutes late and the next day, Taylor rips into me like I did something indecent to her. I've been on his bad side ever since."

"Hey," Rory said when she bumped into Luke and Lorelai. "I'm gonna go home for a while. I wanna take a nap before Grandma and Grandpa come over."

"Have you met everyone yet?" Luke asked.

"Not really. I've met Randy, Barbra, Randy and Barbra's kid, Maggie, Frannie…the bird! Oh my God, it's attacking Cousin Cliff!"

"What the? Frannie! Get that thing off of Clifford before I kill and deep fry it!" Luke ran across the room to deal with Petey.

"He has a cousin Clifford," Lorelai laughed. "It's like the big red dog."

"I guess Luke wasn't kidding when he said he and Jess are the normal ones," Rory said. "I met Peaches. He looks good in that dress."

"He really does. I wonder what size he is."

"While you ponder that thought, I'll be going. Bye Mom."

"Bye Sweets."

Rory stepped outside. She looked across the street and saw Dean and Lindsey. Lane had told her that they were working things out. Now that she was seeing it with her own eyes, Rory knew it had to be true. With a sunken heart, Rory started her slow walk home. When she arrived, Logan was yet again on the steps.

"I messed up," he said. "I really messed up Ace. I went home the other night and I realized how stupid I was. I'm not privileged. Not in the way you are. I acted like a jealous fool last time we saw each other. I said things I shouldn't have and I'm so very sorry for that. I'll understand if you'll never want to speak to me ever again, but I just needed to tell you I'm sorry and that I love you. I'll leave you alone now."

Rory grabbed Logan by the arm. "Why don't you come inside for a while?" she suggested. Logan nodded and followed Rory inside to her bedroom. "Do you want some coffee?"

"No, I'm fine." Then came the awkward silence. Neither of them knew what to say. Finally, Logan spoke up. "Rory, I…"

"Rory where's that book…" Jess interrupted when he burst into Rory's room. He froze when he saw Logan.

"Jess, you can't just barge in here. You have to knock," Rory said.

"Sorry. I didn't know you had company. Luke said you went home and I wanted the book you said I could borrow while I was forced to be in the same room as idiots."

"It's on the table, so leave."

"This is the guy I saw the last time I was here. The diner guy. Who is he?" Logan asked.

"I'm Luke's..." Jess started.

"He works for my dad at Luke's diner. His name is Jess," Rory interrupted. "He comes here a lot and he was just about to go home."

"What are you talking about?" Jess asked, confused. "I live he..."

"Jess, can I talk to you outside for a minute? Good. I'll be right back." Rory pushed Jess out of her room and shut the door.

"Luke's not your dad and I live here," Jess remarked. "And who's Richie Rich?"

"Shh! His name is Logan and thinks Luke is my biological father. Luke and Mom don't know about him. Jess, you have to promise me not to say a word to them."

"Whatever. I gotta go." Jess headed to the door. Rory knew he was angry, but she had Logan to deal with right now. She returned to her room and she and Logan started to talk. Minutes later, Rory heard a car pulling into the drive way. _Oh no_, she thought. _Luke._

"Oh no!" she panicked, jumping off the bed.

"What? What's wrong?"

"He's home. What's he doing home?!?"

"Who's home? Rory, what's going on?"

"My dad. You have to hide." Rory's heart began to beat faster when she heard Luke's heavy foot steps on the front porch followed by Lorelai's petite ones."Get under the bed."

"What? Rory, I don't get what the big d…"

Rory forced Logan to drop to the floor and get under her bed. Just as she stood up, her door swung open and Luke appeared. "It's just one afternoon!" he yelled to Lorelai, who had gone upstairs to pout.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"Some of my cousins and I are going out with Max for some beers."

"What's up with Mom?"

"She's doesn't want me to be Max's friend. Which is really immature of her!" Luke yelled the last part out the door so Lorelai could hear him.

"So what's getting drunk with Mr. Medina have to do with me?"

"Dinner at your grandparents' tonight. Another reason your mom is mad. She thought we were skipping this week since they met Buddy and Mazie on my birthday."

"Mom always looks for those loop holes. Well, if that's all, I guess you'll be going. Have fun getting drunk and don't drive. I'll see you and Mom later."

Rory tried to rush Luke out of her room, but he wouldn't leave. He walked toward the bed. His foot stopped on Logan's hand. "So, how do you like my family?" Luke asked.

"They're…nice," Rory replied uneasily.

"They really like you and your mom. It's funny because they don't like anyone." Luke sat on the bed. His weight brought the mattress down onto Logan, whose hand was still under his foot. "Rory, come here and sit next to me for a minute. I wanna talk to you."

"I'm fine standing."

"Suit yourself. I know you saw Dean and Lindsey earlier. They got back together. No one wanted to say anything to you because they thought it'd hurt your feelings. It's not big secret I hate Dean for what he did to you, but I respect him for trying to make things work with his wife. I just wanted to be the one to tell you they're back together since Lorelai won't. But Dean isn't who I wanted to talk to you about. This is about Jess. I know you and him didn't end things on very good terms, but I was hoping you two could put it behind you. I want you two to get along, but if that's going to be a problem…if _he_ is going to be a problem, I'll ask him to leave. I don't want to see you hurt and I would hate to kill him. It'll be a big mess to clean."

"You're not going to have to kill him," Rory laughed.

"I better get back to the diner. We left Jess in charge and God knows what he's done to it by now." He moved to hug Rory, getting off Logan's hand, but dropping his wallet.

"I'll get it," Rory said, trying to pick it up for him.

"Don't worry. I got it." Luke bent down to pick up his wallet. He froze when he saw something under the bed move. "What was that?"

"Huh? Oh. Nothing. Probably just a mouse or a cat or a…" Rory stopped when Luke pulled up the skirt of the bed. "Or a blonde haired boy."

"Rory, what is this boy doing under your bed?" Luke didn't take his eyes off Logan.

"Playing hide and seek?"

Luke reached under the bed and yanked Logan out, nearly flipping the bed. "Try again."

"He's uh…he's a um…"

"I'll ask you one more time, who is this young man and what was he doing under your bed? And Rory, I suggest you tell me before I brutally murder him."

"His name is Logan. He's a friend from school."

"A friend that hides under your bed?"

"He's a stalker?"

"Hello sir," Logan greeted, still in Luke's grasp.

"Hello Logan. Perhaps you can tell me why you were under that bed. Answer quickly or I'll introduce you to Nemo."

"The fish?"

"My sledgehammer."

"He's my boyfriend," Rory interrupted. "He came to see me and I freaked out when I heard you coming so I shoved him under my bed. Let me explain before you call..."

"Lorelai!" Luke called, letting go of Logan.

Lorelai came running downstairs. "What's the...oh hello," she said when she saw Logan. "Who's he?"

"This is Logan. He's a friend of Rory's from school who hides under her bed."

"Mom, it's not what you think," Rory said in her defense.

"So we're imagining the blonde boy Luke found under your bed?" Lorelai asked in a very sarcastic tone.

"Ok, it's exactly what it looks like. But nothing happened. I swear Mom, we were just talking. Mom, say something."

"Dinner's at seven." With that, Lorelai left the room.

"That's it? That's all she's going to say to me? She didn't even sound mad at me."

"She's not mad. She's hurt," Luke sighed. "I'm going to take her back to the diner and talk to her there. Richie Rich here is obviously more than a stalker so you'll introduce him to us and your grandparents at a more appropriate time. Like let's say Thanksgiving. He is to be gone by the time we need to leave for your grandparents'. I'm putting Babette on watch duty so I'll know the minute he leaves and if he tries to come back. If he attempt to return to this house, I will run him over with my truck. Have I made myself clear young lady?"

"Yes." Luke turned to leave. "Please don't be mad. I wasn't lying. We were just talking."

Luke stood still for a minute and took a deep breath. "Dinner's at seven," he said, following in Lorelai's lead.

"He's more than just the guy that works for your father isn't he?" Logan asked suddenly.

" Logan," Rory pleaded.

"Why do you keep doing this Rory? Tell me now, what's the deal with that Jess guy?"

"He's Luke's nephew and my ex boyfriend."

"You dated your cousin?"

"No. Luke isn't my dad. Biologically, that is. But in every sense of the word, he is."

"I see. I have to go. Call me later."

Rory watched as Logan walked out of her room. She felt like crying. She never felt so horrible in her life.

Luke and Lorelai didn't speak to Rory the rest of the day. She didn't even ride with them to dinner. Luke suddenly decided to take his truck, probably by Lorelai's persuasion, so Jess had to drive his car, automatically getting Rory as his passenger. When they had drinks with Richard, Luke and Richard actually talked about business with Lorelai chiming in here and there. At dinner with Emily, they only spoke when they were spoken to.

It bothered Rory so much, she couldn't sleep. It was nearly two AM when Rory got out of bed to make coffee. She needed something to calm her nerves. When she opened the door, she came face to face with Lorelai.

"I couldn't sleep," Lorelai said.

"Me neither," Rory said.

"Can I come in for a while?" Rory nodded and Lorelai walked in. There was silence.

"I'm sorry," Rory apologized suddenly. "I was going to tell you guys about Logan. I swear I was. Things just started moving so fast and with the wedding and…"

"Rory," Lorelai sighed. "It doesn't bother me and Luke that you have a boyfriend. You're young, but you need to realize the rules about boys still apply in this house. You can't have a boy in your room when the house is empty. Especially since Luke lives here now. We're just looking out for you Rory."

"I don't need to be Mom. I'm an adult now."

"I know. But it doesn't mean we can't protect you. Luke and I just want you to be safe."

"I am safe."

"Good. And Ror, cut Luke some slack. He's new to this full-time dad business. Start him off slow next time. The boy under the bed is too extreme."

"I will," Rory laughed.

"Hey Rory? Do you know what Luke does?"

"What do you mean?"

"He's been getting up early lately and goes somewhere."

"Well what's early? His early and your early are two totally different earlies. Maybe he's just opening the diner. It is always open before we go there."

"I don't think he opens the diner at four thirty in the morning."

"Four thirty? Man, that's early."

"Oh! And he hums."

"What?"

"He hums. The other day, I went to the diner and he was working."

"Of course because he works, he has to be a hummer."

"I heard him humming."

"There's no connection between Luke's humming and his leaving at four thirty in the morning."

"The humming didn't start until his late night adventures."

"How do you know he didn't hum before?"

"Did you ever hear him hum?"

"He could have."

"Honey, it's Luke."

"Oh yeah. Right. What was he humming?"

"I'm not too sure. Hey, maybe we could stay up and wait for him to leave. That way we could follow him and find out where he goes."

"When was the last time we stayed up until four thirty?"

"Does a peach fifties dress and matching pumps ring a bell Donna? If you don't, I have the pictures to remind you."

"One, please burn those pictures. And two, we stayed up till three and that was only because we couldn't find Apricot."

"Come on. Let's give it a try. I bet we could do it. It'll be fun."

Rory stared at her mother. "You're tried already aren't you?"

"What can I say? Luke sure does know how to wear a girl out."

"Ew. I'm going to sleep. I suggest you do the same. Night Mom."

"Night Rory."


	15. Thanksgiving

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 15**

"So where's Richie Rich?" Lorelai teased as she and Rory walked down the street.

"Why is everyone calling him Richie Rich?" Rory asked.

"Because all the men in your life have a title."

"No they don't."

"Dean is Narcolepsy Boy. Jess is the Spawn of Satan…"

"Mom."

"Fine. Dean called him the Hefty Man or something once. But I'm telling you, the first one fits better. And now, there's Richie Rich. So, where is he?"

"He's going to meet us at the diner."

"Hope we get there before he does. Luke might serve us Logan instead of turkey. That is if he hasn't killed and stuffed Petey yet. Do you know what parrot tastes like?"

"No and I prefer not to find out." Rory was about to turn into Doose's to get the flowers, but Lorelai kept walking down the street. "Mom, where are you going?"

"The diner."

"But the flowers…"

"No. No flowers. There will be no flowers. I've learned my lesson."

"Just took you nine years." Logan was arriving at the diner as they were. "You're here."

"Hey Ace," Logan greeted with a smile, kissing Rory on the cheek. "Hello Ms. Gilmore."

"I see Grandpa's Jag across the street," Lorelai remarked, ignoring Logan. "We better get inside before Luke jumps into the oven with the turkey."

The tables in the diner had been pushed together to make on long one. A few of the people there were Kirk and Lulu, Patty, Babette and Morey, Max, Rachel, Paris, Lane, Liz and TJ, and Sookie and Jackson (and their children).

"Hey," Luke greeted when he saw Lorelai and Rory walk in. He gave Lorelai a quick kiss.

"Where's your family?"

"They went home because they all have work tomorrow. They wanted to say goodbye, but when I tried to wake you up, you kicked me...in the head. Where's the flowers?"

"I didn't get any this year."

"You always bring flowers."

"You always tell me not to because you don't have a vase."

"I bought a vase."

"You bought a vase? Why did you buy a vase?"

"Because you always bring flowers."

"You told me not to anymore. And when did you have time to buy a vase?"

"I had Jess get one at Doose's. And since when do you listen to me?"

"Since when do _you_ listen to _me_? Every year I bring you flowers and every year you tell me you don't have a place to put them. So every year I tell you to buy a vase."

"And every year I tell you I don't need a vase because I never have flowers."

"And then I remind you we bring you flowers every year on Thanksgiving."

"Then I tell you to stop bringing me flowers."

"You always tell me to stop bringing me flowers. We do it every year."

"And every year you point that out."

"And every year you point that out."

"And every year..."

"Ok, we all know how this ends," Rory interrupted. "Just have Jess return the vase and we'll have this argument next year."

"Good idea Rory," Luke remarked. He spotted Logan and the smile on his face faded as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Who's your friend?"

"Oh. Logan, this is my mother Lorelai Gilmore and her fiancé, Luke Danes. Mom, Luke, this is Logan Huntzburger, my boyfriend."

"Hello Logan," Lorelai greeted.

"Logan," Luke said.

"Rory," Emily called as she and Richard walked over. "Happy Thanksgiving."

"Thank you Grandma. Same to you," Rory said hugging Emily then Richard. "Happy Thanksgiving Grandpa."

"Thank you Rory," Richard smiled. "Logan? Why this is quite a surprise. What are you doing here?"

"Hello Richard," Logan greeted, shaking Richard's hand. "I'm here with Rory."

"You did? Did you hear that Emily? Logan's here with Rory," Richard said with a smile.

"I did hear that," Emily said, also smiling.

"Hey Luke, when do we eat?" Kirk asked from his seat.

"We'll eat when I say we eat," Luke replied.

"When's that?"

"When I say."

"Are we waiting for someone?"

"No."

"Then how come we can't eat?"

"Kirk, if you don't shut up, I'm going to shove you in the oven with the turkey."

"Oh yay. You didn't cook Petey," Lorelai joked.

"Are you sure you want to marry him Loreali? He's rather violent," Kirk said.

"That's it! I'm getting my sledgehammer," Luke threatened.

"Does he really carry his sledgehammer around with him?" Logan whispered to Rory.

"Of course not," Rory replied. "He has three. The third is in the back of his truck."

"Hey Luke, you didn't prepare the turkey like last year did you?" Sookie asked as she walked up to the group.

"Yeah," Luke replied. "Why?"

"No reason. Do you think I can…"

"Sookie, stay out of my kitchen."

"Yeah, but can I just…"

"Stay out of my kitchen."

"But the…"

"Stay out of my kitchen."

"Is it always like this?" Logan asked Rory.

"Just on a good day," Rory laughed.

* * *

"Alright everyone!" Lorelai yelled to get everyone's attention. "Luke here has informed me that the 'bird' is ready. So if we could all take our seats, we can finally eat!" 

Luke went upstairs and got Jess to come down. He froze for a second when he saw Logan. The only sensible seat close to his family was the one between his mom and Rory.

"Hey Jess. Happy Thanksgiving," Rory said.

"Yeah. You too," Jess mumbled. "Who's he?"

"Logan Huntzburger," Logan introduced himself, extending his hand to Jess. But Jess didn't shake it. He stared at it for a minute and took his seat. Logan pulled his hand back and shoved it in his pocket. "Right."

Jess wasn't the only one having a hard time find a seat. Max was in the bathroom when it was time to sit. He stood off to the side as everyone rushed to sit next to their friends. Luke walked over to Max.

"You can sit here," Luke said, leading Max to the seat next to Rachel. "Max, you remember Rachel from my birthday party don't you?"

"Uh yeah," Max stuttered. "The photographer right?"

"Yes," Rachel replied. "You're a Literature teacher aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am."

"I'll let you two talk," Luke said. He smiled to himself as he walked back to his place beside Lorelai.

"I knew you were up to something," Lorelai remarked.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"You were trying to get Max and Rachel together aren't you?" she asked in a whisper.

"I am not," Luke replied in the same tone.

"Then why are you whispering?"

"Because…because you were too. They do make a nice couple though, don't you think?"

"Yes they do. Good job Luke."

"Thank you." Luke turned to the elder Gilmores. "Richard, why don't you take the seat at the head of the table?"

"Luke, I can't sit there," Richard remarked. "The head of the family sits at the head of the table. And _you_ are the head of this family." Richard put his hands on Luke's shoulders and led him to the head of the table. "So you will sit here and I will sit over there."

Luke and Lorelai shrugged and sat where they intended Richard and Emily to sit. When everyone was seated, Luke told Caesar to bring out the food. After the side dishes were put on the table, Caesar wheeled out the turkey. Luke picked up the carving knife and everyone clapped as he carved the turkey.

* * *

"Thank you for behaving around Logan," Lorelai said to Luke as they walked into the house. "I know it meant a lot to Rory." 

"There were too many witnesses anyway," Luke joked. "So I hear you enforced a 'no boys allowed' rule."

"Where did you hear a thing like that?"

"Word spreads quickly around here. You never had that rule before did you?"

"We should have." Luke raised an eyebrow at Lorelai. " Luke, you're new at this whole dad thing. It'll help to start you off slow."

"I've been helping you raise Rory for nine years."

"So you're telling me it's not going to bother you when this house is empty, Rory has Logan in her room."

"I'll admit I over reacted to Logan, but how do you know I'm going to do it again?"

"How do I know you won't?"

"I get it now."

"Get what?"

"It's not that you think it bothers me. It's bothering you."

"No it is not."

"Yes it is."

"No it's not."

"Yes it is."

"Ok, what are we? Ten?"

"You're just hoping Dean and Rory will get back together."

"Dean was a great guy, but like you said many times before, he's married."

"Is this about Jess?"

"Of course not. We found Logan under Rory's bed."

"So it's about Logan."

"Why would you say something like that?"

"If this were about Rory having guys under her bed or bringing them home when we're not, you would have said 'guys' or 'boys'. But you specifically said Logan. Twice."

"You're talking crazy."

"And you're not denying it. Why don't you like him?"

"He's not a prince. You said Rory deserves a prince."

"Why don't you like Logan?"

"You don't even know him. What if he's a fugitive on the run for murderer or bank robbery? What if he's a druggie?"

"I highly doubt he's a fugitive if he knows your father, but if it'll make you feel better I'll have someone run a background check on him. I'll also have him take a drug test."

"What if he trips old people or takes candy from babies for kicks? What if he tortures small animals?"

"What if you just told me why don't you like him?"

"I never said I didn't like him."

"And you never said you did. Just tell me why you don't like him."

"Because."

"Because what?"

"Ok, you know what? You win. I don't like Logan. Can we drop it now?"

All Luke needed to do was look into Lorelai's eyes and he had the answer he was looking for. "How about we go to bed?"

"It's only six thirty and you want to go to sleep?"

"Who said anything about sleeping? I asked you if you wanted to go to bed." Luke put his arm around Lorelai and they went upstairs to their room.


	16. Luke's Dark Day and the mysterious boat

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 16**

Lorelai woke up when she heard Luke walking around the room. He heard her sit up and turned around. "Hey, did I wake you?" he asked.

"Just a little," Lorelai teased.

"Sorry. I was hoping I could leave without waking you. I had a note and everything." Luke held up a piece of paper and shrugged.

"I can go back to sleep and pretend I was never awake."

"That's alright." He sat at the edge of the bed and put his boots on. "I don't think I'll be home for dinner. I made lasagna and it's in the freezer. All you have to do is put it in the oven for an hour and heat it at three fifty. Make sure you grab the one with the red sauce. The other one is vegetable."

"So, this is how it's going to be every 'Dark Day'."

"Unfortunately."

"I guess I'll have to get used to it."

"I'm sorry. I just need this time. I better get going. I'll see you later."

"Ok. Bye. And be safe."

"I will. Bye. And go back to sleep." Luke kissed Lorelai and left the room. She sighed and went back to sleep.

* * *

"Hey Sook," Lorelai greeted as she walked into the kitchen. 

"Hey," Sookie greeted. "How's your day going?"

"It's ok. I missed him at the diner this morning. Jess may be Luke's nephew, but the relation stops there. I went to Luke's this morning and Jess made me breakfast. The food was _not_ good."

"I'm sorry. Do you want me to make you something to eat?"

"I'm fine. Jess made up for the horrible food by bringing me loads of coffee. I just really miss Luke."

"What are your plans for your Luke-free day?"

"I thought about it long and hard and I finally came up with an answer. I'm going to spend the whole day here."

"Lorelai, you can't do that. Oh! I got it. Let's have a girls' night."

"What about Davey and the baby? Besides, we need girls for a girls' night."

"Jackson can watch the boys. You call Rory and get her and Paris to come. I'll call Lane and tell her to stop by after work. We can get Rachel and Liz to come too. We can stay up all night, order pizza, play games, and watch movies. It'll be like a pre-bachelorette party, but more importantly, it'll be fun."

"Fine. But if they say no, I'm locking myself in Luke's old apartment."

* * *

Lorelai sat in her office as she did some work for the wedding. She sighed and picked up the phone to call Rory. 

"Hello?" Rory answered.

"Hey kiddo, it's me," Lorelai said.

"Oh hey Mom. What's up?"

"Nothing much. Are you free tonight?"

"Yes I am. Why?"

"Sookie came up with this great idea of a girls' night. Pizza, movies, games, stories about boys, the whole nine yards. I was wondering if you and Paris want to come."

"Sure. I'll give Paris a call later and have her meet me at the house."

"Why don't you come together?"

"Because Logan and I are heading to town right now. Logan wanted to talk to Luke and I'm going for moral support."

"Good luck with that."

"Huh?"

"Luke's not here."

"As in not at the inn or not at the diner?"

"As in Luke's not here and I don't know where he is. Today's the thirtieth."

"Oh yeah. His dark day. What's that all about anyway?"

"It's not my place to say."

"I understand. Well, I have to go. I'll see you tonight."

"Be there by seven. Hair and make up's at seven thirty."

"Will do. Later Mom."

"Bye Sweets."

"So explain this to me again," Logan said as he and Rory got out of the car.

* * *

"On November thirtieth, Luke leaves really early in the morning and comes home in the middle of the night. He spends the whole day alone. Mom says he's been doing it for sixteen years. It's his dark day," Rory explained. 

"Sounds like when Finn gets drunk and wanders around in the woods."

"Well there's sentiment behind Luke's dark day."

"Whatever you say. So what are we doing at your house? I remember your mother specifically saying I am not allowed in that house when no one is home."

"I just need to get a book. You can stay out here if you want."

"Whatever you say Ace." Logan waited outside while Rory went inside. He looked around and noticed the garage door was slightly open. He slowly walked over to the garage and was about to open it when he heard Rory.

"Hey, what are you doing?"

"Your garage is open."

"Really? Hm. I thought it was supposed to look like that."

"How long has it been like that?"

"A year?" Logan moved to close the doors. "What are you doing?"

"Closing your garage. People can walk in and take what's in there." Logan tried to shut the doors, but stopped when he saw what was keeping the doors open. "What's this? Whoa, I didn't know you had a boat."

"We don't have a boat."

"Then what's this?" Logan opened the doors and pointed to the wooden boat inside.

"Oh my God. We have a boat," Rory laughed as they walked in the garage.

"You're telling me you didn't know this was in here?"

"No. We never use the garage. I haven't even been in here since Lane stopped using it for band practice."

"It's not finished," Logan remarked, examining the structure. "This boat is in the process of being built. Looks like it's been years since it was worked on." Logan climbed into the boat and took a closer look at the structure.

"Requesting permission to come aboard."

"Permission granted." Logan held out his hand to Rory and helped her on. "So, here we are, in a boat that was probably used in the Trojan War, doing nothing."

"What do you suggest we do?" Logan grinned seductively and kissed Rory.

* * *

Luke parked his truck in the driveway and got out. He was on his way inside the house when he noticed the garage doors were opened wider than usual. He slowly made his way over and opened the doors completely. And there, on the deck of his father's boat, was Rory and Logan making out. The young couple pulled apart and sat up when they heard Luke open the doors and the light from outside shined in their eyes. 

"Luke," Rory said in shock. "What are you..."

"Get out of that boat," Luke stated with a hint of anger. Logan and Rory were too scared to move. "I said get out of the damn boat!"

They jumped and scurried out of the boat. Luke quickly turned on his heal and stormed back toward his truck.

"Luke, let me explain," Rory pleaded as she and Logan followed him.

Just then, Lorelai's Jeep pulled up and Lorelai stepped out. "Luke, what are you doing home?" she asked.

"I'm leaving," Luke huffed.

She instantly caught on to his anger and then spotted Rory and Logan. "What's wrong?"

"What's wrong? I'll tell you what's wrong!" Luke yelled as he slammed the door to his truck. "I come home to get my watch and I see the garage doors opened wider than we keep them, so I go check it out. When I open the doors, low and behold, I find these two making out on the deck!"

"Mr. Danes, Ms. Gilmore, it's my fault," Logan said. "I was the one poking my nose in the garage and I got in the boat first..."

"Logan, I suggest you don't speak," Lorelai said, holding up her hand. She turned her attention back to Luke. "Calm down. She doesn't know about the boat."

"And that's supposed to make it right?" Luke asked. "You know what? You're right. I don't know this guy and I don't like him!" He took a few deep breaths and got in his truck.

"You need to calm down. Please, for me, calm down. I'll talk to Rory." Luke took another deep breath and started his truck. "Hey, I love you."

"I love you too." With that, Luke pulled out of the driveway and drove off.

Lorelai turned to Rory and Logan. "It's time for you to leave Logan," she said seriously.

"Ms. Gilmore..." Logan started.

"Goodbye Logan."

"Right. I'll see you later Ace." Logan was about to kiss Rory, but he changed his mind when he saw Lorelai glaring at him. He got in his car and left.

Lorelai stood with her arms crossed over her chest, shaking her head as she stared at her daughter. "Well? Are you just going to stand there or are you going to explain to me what you were doing making out with your boyfriend in that boat?" Lorelai asked angrily.

"I didn't know about the boat," Rory said softly.

"Oh so you two run around making out in other people's boats? I don't know how things are done in Yale, but around here, you do not make out in people's boats!"

"I already said I didn't know about your stupid boat!"

"One, it's not a stupid boat. And two, it's not mine."

"Yours, Luke's, it's all the same."

"It's not Luke's boat."

"You just have some strange boat in our garage?"

"Stay away from that boat Rory. I mean it."

"Fine, I'll stay away from the boat."

"What is going on with you Rory? This isn't like you. Hiding boys under your bed, keeping boyfriends from me for almost a year..."

"You knew?"

"Of course I knew! I hate to burst your bubble, but you're no Nancy Drew. Logan's parents are friends with your grandparents. Your grandfather has been grilling me about when you and Logan were going to make your relationship official."

"Why does Luke hate Logan?"

"Don't change the subject."

"It's no secret he hates Logan now. He decided that the first day he saw him. He doesn't want to give Logan a chance and I want to know why."

Lorelai laughed to herself. "Believe it or not Rory, Luke was the one that liked Logan."

"What do you mean he was the one that liked Logan?"

"Rory, that boat means a lot to Luke," Lorelai said, bringing the subject back to the boat. "He has a history with it. I wish I could tell you about it, but I can't. Just...just don't touch the boat. Please. For my sanity, stay away from the boat."

"Not like there's much left of your sanity anyway," Rory teased. They both laughed. "So, are we ok?"

"Of course we are. We always are." Lorelai put her arm around Rory and they headed inside.

"Luke's dad's initials were 'W.D.' right?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"They're carved into a board on the deck. The boat belonged to Luke's father didn't it?"

Lorelai paused for a minute. She smiled at Rory and kept moving. "Come on, let's get ready for tonight."

* * *

**A/N: I wanted to embelish the girls' night, but my mind was drawing a blank. To make up for the void, I'll give you a little spoiler of the next chapter. Lorelai gets more suspicious about Luke's whereabouts and is worried about his spending time with Richard.She alsoagrees she and Luke will attend a double date with Rachel and Max without Luke's approval. While working on honeymoon details, Jess and Rory have a not so pleasant encounter about Logan, then get closer. Dean makes an appearance as does Mitchum Huntzburger.**


	17. Then why won't you say it?

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 17**

"Rory," Lorelai called in a whisper as she tried to wake Rory. "Rory, get up. Luke left. He woke up and he left. Come on, we can follow him."

"You're waking me up at four thirty in the morning to tell me Luke woke up and left?" Rory asked sleepily.

"Yeah. This is our chance to find out what he does."

"Mom, it's too early. I need to rest well for the Thanksgiving dinner."

"Don't you wanna know where he goes and what he does? Come on Rory. He's going to be _your_ step father."

"Make Jess go with you. He's already related to Luke."

"I tried. He locked his door. It'll be like a mother-daughter mission."

Rory groaned. Lorelai was going to keep bugging her until she agreed to go. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed. "Fine. I'm going you, but when I get back Luke and I are talking about having you committed."

* * *

"I woke Rory up and we followed him," Lorelai said to Rachel as they crossed the street. 

"Did you find out where he went?" Rachel asked.

"Nope. We found his truck behind the diner and he walked out of Patty's half an hour later. We lost him after that. He's been so secretive lately. He leaves early, takes an extra hour on his lunch break, and comes home later than usual after closing th diner. You don't think he's..."

"Luke? No. No. Luke would never cheat on you. He's never cheated on anyone."

"Did you know he hums?"

"I didn't know he hums. He's getting married. People get giddy and yes, they hum."

"You know as well as I do, Luke is no hummer. He's changing and it's worrying me."

"Maybe it's just in your head." Rachel and Lorelai walked into the diner. They gasped when they saw Luke in a polo shirt and khakis. "Or maybe I was wrong."

"Oh my God. He looks like my father!"

Luke looked up from behind the counter. "Do you mind? I have customers," he said.

"What are you doing?" Lorelai asked as she and Rachel sat at the counter. Luke poured them coffee, then went back to looking for something.

"I can't find my balls."

Rachel nearly choked on her coffee. "Excuse me?" she asked.

"My _golf_ balls. I can't find my golf balls."

"You're going golfing again?" Lorelai asked.

"Yes. Your father wanted to go."

"You're going golfing with my father?" Luke rolled his eyes. _Here she goes again, _he thought to himself. "I swear, my parents see you more than I do."

"They do not."

"Luke, look at yourself. You look like Richard Gilmore cloned himself and gave the clone your face."

"I'm not turning into your father. He asked me to dress in the right clothes when we go golfing. I have to go. Richard expects me at the club in an hour." Luke kissed Lorelai and grabbed his jacket.

"He's manipulating you! They both are!" Lorelai called after him as he left. "See what I mean? He's golfing. With my father!"

"I guess you were right. He's a horrible golfer."

"Actually, my dad says he's getting better. A real contender."

"Really?"

"Yeah, but I think he's just trying to be nice. So, how are things with Max?"

"I'm not sure. We haven't really gone out yet."

"What? I thought you too hit it off on Thanksgiving."

"We did. I don't know what to say around him. Sometimes I think he's out of my league."

"Trust me, he's not. He's just like you and me."

"What did you say to him when you went out?"

"Uh…how's Rory doing in school? I don't remember. It was a long time ago. Rachel, just be yourself and you'll be fine. When's your next date?"

"If you mean our first one, it's Sunday. Hey, I have an idea. Why don't you come?"

"You want me to go with you on your date with Max?"

"Yeah. You and Luke."

"Like a double date?"

"Yeah. Please Lorelai. Just this once."

Lorelai thought about it for a minute. She knew she should wait for Luke to give an answer, but Rachel was looking at her with pleading eyes. "We'll be there."

Rachel squealed and hugged Lorelai. As Rachel rapidly spoke, all Lorelai could think of was of how she was supposed to tell Luke they were doubling with her ex-fiancé and his ex-girlfriend. Oh what a roller coaster this was going to be.

* * *

"Rory," Jess called again. "Rory, did you hear me?" 

"I'm sorry Jess. What did you say?" Rory yawned.

"Why are you so tired?"

"Mom woke me up at four thirty and made me go with her while she followed Luke _again_. She was going to drag you out of bed, but you locked your door. I need to get a lock."

"Why were you following Luke at four thirty in the morning?"

"Because my mother is insane! He's been getting up at the wee hours of the night and goes somewhere. Apparently it's been going on for a while."

"Did you find out where he went?"

"No. I put up a fight til four forty-five. We couldn't follow him so we hunted down his car. It was behind the diner, but he wasn't there. We saw him leaving Patty's at five fifteen. Then Mom spotted something furry and we lost him. Do you know where he goes?"

"If I did, I wouldn't care. So, Luke and Lorelai's honeymoon. We need to figure out where they're going. Did you make a list like I asked?"

"I made a list." Rory and Jess traded lists. "You have weird passions."

Rory looked over Jess's list and frowned. "Jess, what's this? Luke and Mom had lists. These places aren't on Luke's list. Did you even look at Luke's list?"

"His list goes as far as down the street. Did you look at Lorelai's?"

"If it were up to Mom, they'd go to some fictional wonderland she saw in a cartoon."

"Well, half of_ Lorelai's_ list would make Luke want to jump off the plane before it landed."

"And Mom would hate the places on Luke's list. Ok. This isn't a problem. All we have to do is think of a place Luke and Mom would both want to go. And no cruises. Make a list."

"Why aren't I surprised you said that?" he joked as he picked up the pen and pad Rory had slid over to him. They sat in silence for a few minutes. "How's your boyfriend?"

"He's fine."

"Yeah? Must be nice to have a guy buying you everything your heart desires."

Rory looked up from her pad. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing. Richie treat you well?"

"He treats me like a queen."

"I bet."

"What's with you?"

"Do you love him?"

"What?"

"Does he love you?"

"It's none of your business."

"It's a simple question."

"Fine. Yes."

"So you love him and he loves you?"

"Yes?"

"Then why won't you say it?" Rory opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out. Jess went back to making his list.

"You lied to Luke about going to school didn't you?" Rory asked suddenly.

"No I did not."

"You came at the beginning of the month and you're not leaving until February."

"I never said anything about leaving."

"What?"

"I'm not leaving. The company found out about the time I fought Dean at that party and they decided to take back the scholarship. I got angry and I quit. Because I didn't have a job, I couldn't pay for my rent so I was evicted."

"So you came to Stars Hollow knowing Luke wouldn't turn you away."

"Basically."

"You know you can't live with him forever. He and my mom are getting married. They're going to want to start a family."

"I know that. I was hoping I could stay with them just until I could get back on my feet. Then I'd pay them back and leave. First, I need a better job than working at the diner."

"Maybe I can talk to my grandfather and see if he could help you."

"You'd do that?" Jess asked, looking up at Rory.

"Yeah. I would."

"So you and Luke are ok now?" Rory just stared at Jess. "I heard Babette and Patty saying you had a little confrontation with Luke about the garage on Wednesday."

"You can always count on those two for late, breaking news. But yes. I apologized to Luke, we had a talk, and we're ok."

"You know, I find it very hard to believe you and Luke fought about the garage. There has to be more to it. More about that garage." Before Jess had time to further interrogate, the doorbell rang. "I'll get it." He got up to answer the door. When he opened it, he came face to face with a very familiar person. "Hey Dean."

"What are you doing here?" Dean asked.

"Jess, who's at the..." Rory trailed off when she saw Dean. "What are you doing here?"

"Tom sent me to deliver some papers to Luke. Is he here?"

"Not right now," Rory replied. "What are they?"

"Floor plans for the house. We can't start construction until Tom gets theses papers back with Luke's signature. Can I trust you to give them to him?"

"Not like we have any use for them." Jess took the papers from Dean and turned to Rory. "I'm gonna go to the diner."

"Ok, I expect a full page when you get back though," she called out to Jess as he left. That left Rory and Dean, alone together and uncomfortable. "You wanna come in?"

"Uh, sure." Rory stepped aside and let Dean in.

* * *

Luke spotted Richard outside the clubhouse waiting for him. "Hello Richard," Luke greeted as he approached the older man. 

"Ah Luke, you're right on time. Come on, there's someone I'd like you to meet," Richard said. Richard led Luke into the clubhouse where Logan and another man were waiting. They stood when Richard and Luke walked in. "Luke, you remember Logan. This is Mitchum Huntzburger, Logan's father and a good friend of mine. Mitchum, this is Luke Danes. He's my daughter's fiancé."

"Good afternoon young man," Mitchum greeted.

"Mr. Huntzburger, pleasure to meet you sir," Luke said.

"Mitchum here owns an empire of newspapers. And I've been trying to get Luke to franchise his diner," Richard joked.

"You work in a diner?" Mitchum asked.

"I own a diner. Luke's Diner in Stars Hollow," Luke replied.

"You should eat there sometime Dad," Logan interrupted. "Luke makes the best cup of coffee in Connecticut and his burgers are great."

"Logan, are you suggesting I drive half an hour to Stars Hollow to eat in a diner?" Mitchum asked. Logan wasn't sure how he should answer his father's question.

"We better get out on the green before we lose our tee time," Richard said.

"I think that's a good idea Richard," Luke said. The four men headed out to the green, Logan keeping as much distance as possible between himself and Luke.

* * *

After a round of golf, Luke was in the bar drinking. Richard and Mitchum were in the lounge enjoying their drinks as they talked business and he needed a break from them for a while. He took a sip of his scotch and sighed. 

"I never took you for a scotch man," Logan joked as he took the stool next to him.

"I'm not," Luke stated. "I only drink hard liquor when I'm around Richard. Plus they don't serve beer here. Not good beer anyway."

"Mr. Danes..."

"My father was Mr. Danes. I'm Luke. Just Luke."

"Ok. Luke, about the other day in the boat, I take full responsibility for everything that happened. I'm sorry for disrespecting you. You can hate me, just don't get mad at Rory." Luke didn't say a word. He just stared at his drink. "Now would be a great time for you to say something."

Luke sighed. "I don't hate you. I may not like you right now, but I don't hate you. What happened in that garage hurt your credibility to me. I'll admit I did overreact. I'm known to do that from time to time. But if you make Rory happy, you're ok by me. If you do anything to hurt my girl, I will slowly and brutally murder you."

"I'll keep that in mind." They sat in silence. "I never took you for a golf man either."

"I don't golf."

"The attire and back swing say differently."

"I'm just doing this to entertain Richard."

"You must really love Lorelai to learn a mind numbing sport just to satisfy her father."

"Love makes you do crazy things."

"You can say that again." The two men sighed and downed the rest of their drinks.

* * *

"Honey, I'm home!" Luke joked as he walked into the house. 

Lorelai walked downstairs. "How was golf with Dad?" she asked.

"Boring as usual," he sighed as he took off his jacket and hung it. "Where is everyone?"

"Rory went back to campus and Jess is upstairs in his room."

They went to the kitchen and Luke made some coffee for Lorelai and tea for himself.

"I met Logan's father today. Your father invited Mitchum and Logan to golf with us. Apparently, Mitchum is the newspaper king."

"Dating Logan could open up opportunities for Rory. By the way, the floor plan came today." Lorelai grabbed a folder on the counter and handed it to Luke. "Tom needs your signature for approval before starting construction."

"Great," Luke said looking through the papers. "I'll give these to Tom tomorrow."

Lorelai smiled and hugged Luke from behind. "This is exciting don't you think?"

"We're adding two rooms to the house."

"It's what the additions to the house mean."

"More rooms?"

"Additions to the family silly."

"I know what you meant."

"Are you sure they can get this done before Christmas?"

"All of Tom's guys are working on this, I'm paying them three times the reasonable price, _and_ I'm helping with the construction to make sure the rooms are done in time. It _will_ be done by Christmas."

"Great. Do you think we should tell Rory first?"

"She'll figure it out when there's a big hole in the kitchen wall."

"Whatever you say. I'm gonna go upstairs and get ready for bed." Lorelai put her cup in the sink and turned to go upstairs. "Oh. Rachel asked me if you and I would go on a double date with her and Max Sunday and I said yes."

"Mm hm." A minute later, Luke realized what Lorelai had said and jumped out of his seat to chase after her. "Lorelai! Lorelai!"

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Construction on the Gilmore-Danes home begins. Expect Luke to find himself in an embarassingsituation in front of Lorelai and the rest of her "wedding committee." Jess and Dean are forced to work on the project together. A familiar face comes back to town to participate in Luke and Lorelai's wedding. Richard and Emily get closer and Richard goes to talk to Luke about something that leads to an arguement between Luke and Lorelai._**


	18. The one with the fight

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 18**

Lorelai opened the front door to find Rachel, Emily, and Patty on the other side. "Oh great, you're here," Lorelai smiled. "Come on in."

"We're not late are we?" Rachel asked.

"No, you're right on time. Sookie's been here since five thirty because we broke ground today."

"Broke ground for what?" Emily asked.

"Luke and I decided to add two more rooms to the house before Christmas."

"You made a hole in the wall that will let in the cold, wintry air while it's snowing? How much is it going to cost? It must cost extra to have two rooms built in less than a month."

"Uh...how about we get started now? Rory, Sookie, Babette, Liz we're starting!" Lorelai said, steering the conversation away from a money topic. As soon as the others joined them, they took seats and started to talk about wedding details, starting with the engagement party.

"All in favor for the engagement party to be at my studio, say 'I'," Patty said.

"I," everyone said.

"Whoa," Luke said as he walked into the room, toolbox in hand. "Sounds like I just walked into a town meeting. Good morning ladies."

"Morning Luke," they all greeted.

"Hey sweetie, what's the prognosis?" Lorelai asked.

"You broke the washer."

"I did not!"

"A pair of ladies underwear somehow found its way into the gears, short circuiting the washer."

"How do you know they weren't Rory's underwear?"

"I've seen your underwear enough times to know if they were yours or not."

"So what now? Can you fix it? Do we buy a new washer? Or do we just stop washing our clothes, become nudists, and run around town naked?"

Luke stared awkwardly at Lorelai. "What is this obsession with you and being naked?"

"Oh come on Luke. Don't be shy. You look great naked."

"Ah jeez. We can't afford a washer so I'll have to figure something out. Did Jess go outside?"

"Jess is still upstairs in his room," Rory replied.

"What? He should've been outside an hour ago." Luke put his toolbox down and went upstairs.

"Ok ladies, back to business," Lorelai said. "Let's hear from Rachel. Sookie after that. Then Patty and Babette. Liz after them. Mom is next. And finally, Rory and I will go over what we have."

"The pictures I have of you and Luke are looking good. We'll need to do a photo shoot for the picture we're going to blow up and I'll need pictures for the montage," Rachel replied.

"I need you and Luke to pick a flavor for the cake and icing and a list of the type of food you want me to serve. I can have a food test ready for you, Luke, Rory, and your parents at least a week after I get the list."

"Sounds good. Luke and I will work on a list tonight."

"Quit pushing me," Jess said as Luke pushed him down the stairs. "I'm going already."

"You're lucky I'm not pushing you off the roof. I told you to go outside and help T.J. and Jackson an hour ago," Luke barked.

"You're the one that woke me up at five thirty to swing a stupid sledgehammer at the wall."

"How about I swing a sledgehammer at your head? You have fifteen minutes to get dressed and on that roof!"

"Whatever. I'm getting my laundry from the laundry room."

* * *

Half an hour later, Logan joined Luke, Jess, Max, T.J., and Jackson on the roof. In the living room, Emily had just finished explaining her ideas on how the Russian theme would look. Now it was Rory's turn to speak. 

"I've been bugging Mom and Luke to make a decision on the color of the wedding and they have finally made up their minds. The lovely couple has chosen an elegantly soft, powder-ish baby blue. It won't look bad in the snow and it'll bring out their eyes. We begin the dress and gown search next week and once we have the fabric picked out, I'll give a sample to Jess and Luke will take the men to find tuxes. I am now going to turn the floor over to the bride."

"Thank you Rory. There are a few things I want to touch face on. Mom, I really like the Russian theme idea," Lorelai commented.

"But," Emily prompted.

"But we're going to have to keep it a little simpler than what you have. I just don't think we're going to be able to afford everything you have in mind."

"Your father and I will be able to afford it."

"I know, but Luke and I were thinking of paying for the whole wedding ourselves…"

"It's customary for the bride's parents to pay for the wedding."

"Yeah, but you see. Luke…"

"Your father and I are going to pay for the wedding," Emily stated strongly.

Lorelai was about to speak, but was interrupted by a thud coming from the roof, followed by what sounded like sliding. "Ah!!" someone screamed from the roof.

* * *

Luke slowly made his way across the roof to grab a tool from his toolbox. T.J. stood up when Luke was right behind him and accidentally bumped into him. Luke fell with a thud and started to slide toward the edge of the roof. "Ah!!" he screamed. 

"Hurry! Grab him!" Jackson yelled.

"There he goes!" T.J. said as Luke slid past Max.

"He's going over the edge!" Jess yelled, moving as fast as he could without falling. It was too late, Luke slid over the side of the roof. He didn't fall. He hung there upside down. "Pull him up!"

Max and Logan ran to the edge of the roof and tried to help Luke. "I'm trying!" Max said.

"Would someone pull me back up? The blood is rushing to my head!" Luke yelled.

"His pants are stuck in the rain gutter!" Logan remarked. "He's gotta take his pants off.

"Luke, you have to take your pants off," Jess yelled down.

"What?!? I am not taking off my pants!" Luke stated.

"You have to. Your pants are caught in the rain gutter. You're not going to fall. Jackson and T.J. are going to hold you up by your boots." Jess turned to the other men. "Ok, Logan and Max, I need you guys to pull Luke's pants up and off while Jackson and T.J. hold him up by his feet. I'm going to go down there and when his pants are off, slowly ease him down. Got it?"

"We got it. Just get down there so we can get this over with," T.J. replied.

Jess climbed down the side of the house. Jackson and T.J. grabbed Luke's boots and Logan and Max grabbed his pant legs. Luke felt ridiculous. He was hanging upside down from the roof with two men holding onto his pants, two other men holding him up by his boots, and his nephew getting ready to catch him while he was undoing his belt buckle and the button to his jeans.

Luke suddenly felt himself slipping out of his boots. Before he could say anything, he fell out of his boots and onto the porch rail, somehow taking Jess out in the process- probably by some flying piece of the porch or Luke's falling legs. He climbed out of the bush, wearing nothing but his baseball cap, flannel shirt, his socks, and underwear. He walked into the house, not wanting any of the neighbors see him.

"I was thinking…oh dear Lord!" Lorelai gasped when she saw Luke. All the girls looked up at Lorelai and then at Luke, their mouths dropping open in shock.

"Luke! Where are your pants?" Lorelai asked as she ran over to him. "And why is there dirt all over your shirt?"

"Out there I think," Luke replied. He took off his shirt, not realizing the committee was still in the living room. "I fell off the roof and ended up in the bush. I fell onto the porch rail too. And I think I may have knocked out Jess."

"Well, now I see why Lorelai is always smiling," Patty whispered to Babette, Rachel, Emily, Liz, and Rory as she looked at Luke.

"He's chiseled like a marble statue!" Babette added. "Look at those abs!"

"That's my step-father!" Rory said, shielding her eyes.

"That's my brother," Liz said in disgust.

Luke's head shot up when he heard Babette and he froze. Lorelai tried to cover Luke up as much as possible. "Luke, honey, why don't you go upstairs and put some clothes on?" she suggested.

Luke simply nodded and ran upstairs. He felt like an idiot. He was just standing half naked in front of a wedding committee that included two of the town's biggest gossipers and even worse- his future mother-in-law.

* * *

Dean headed up the front porch and stopped when he saw Jess sitting in a chair with an ice pack on his head. "Luke fell off the roof and took me out in the process," Jess explained. 

"This is the second time I've seen you at this house. Are you and Rory back together?"

"If we were, her boyfriend would be mighty angry." Jess put the ice pack down and slowly headed toward Dean. "He's the blonde guy on the roof. He comes from a world we know nothing about. A world her grandparents accept. So don't get any ideas. Leave Rory alone."

"Practice what you preach."

"You've lost your mind."

"You planning to play mind games with this guy too? Get him to believe you're _just_ Rory's friend and then take her away for the poor sap right? That is how you play the game right?"

"You don't know what you're talking about."

Luke stepped outside and spotted the two men. "Is there something going on here?" he asked.

Neither Jess nor Dean spoke at first. "Everything's fine," Jess replied.

"Dean?"

"What he said," Dean said.

"Good. I'm glad you ran into each other. Tom and I are splitting the workers in half and each team will work on a room. You boys are gonna be on the same team." Jess and Dean started to complain which angered Luke. "You two are going to work together and that is final."

"Good morning men," Richard greeted as he walked up the pathway with a folder in his hands.

"Morning Richard," Luke greeted.

"Why don't we go inside so we can talk?"

"Sounds good to me." Luke opened the door for Richard and escorted him into the house, then to the living room. Patty and Babette had gone home already, leaving Rory, Emily, Rachel, and Liz.

"Hey Dad," Lorelai greeted.

"Hello Lorelai. Good morning ladies. Hello Emily," Richard smiled.

"Hello Richard," Emily smiled back. "I didn't know you were coming today."

"I was going to talk to Luke about a few things we need to get in order. I was also hoping to hear about this wedding I'll be paying for."

"Oh. I'm glad you came then."

"So am I." Everyone watched as the elder Gilmores continued to smile at each other.

Lorelai looked at Luke and gave him a there's-something-going-on-between-them look as they sat down. "Daddy," Lorelai called. "Luke and I were originally planning to pay for the whole wedding ourselves, but Mom said you guys were paying for it. We really don't want to be in debt with you guys for the first years of our marriage."

"Lorelai, you and Luke don't worry about a thing. You two save your money for something more important. Your mother and I will take care of this wedding," Richard said. "With all the construction going on, it might be a smart idea if you, Luke, and Jess stayed somewhere else."

"With Rory coming home every weekend and her winter break just around the corner, there isn't really a place big enough to go," Luke remarked.

"What about the old house?" Liz suggested. Luke's head shot up and he stared at his sister. "Buddy and Maisy still own the property, the house is in order, and all the utilities are working."

"You mean we could see the house Luke grew up in?" Rory asked. Her eyes lit up in excitement.

"No," Luke said, shaking his head. "We can't...no. If Jess stays with you, Lorelai, Rory, and I can stay in my old apartment."

"You know Jess won't agree to that," Liz remarked.

"You can always stay with us," Emily offered.

"That's a wonderful idea!" Richard said. "There's more than enough room at the house."

Lorelai eyed Luke dangerously, making him extremely uncomfortable. "Um...you know what? We'll just stay at my old house," Luke said.

"Suit yourself. On to business. Luke, I was hoping to get your signature on some paperwork."

"What paperwork?" Lorelai asked. "Dad, you're not drawing up a prenuptial are you?"

"Of course not. I'm talking about the papers for the burial plans. We need to add Luke to the list of names for the family crypt. Otherwise, he might not be buried there."

"They're standard papers saying he'll be buried with the rest of the Gilmore clan," Emily added.

Lorelai glanced over at Luke. His head was down and his knuckles were turning white from holding a fist. "Mom, Dad, I don't think this is the time for this conversation," she remarked.

"We're just trying to get this in order Lorelai," Richard remarked. "We asked you to talk to Luke weeks ago, but you insist on putting it off."

Lorelai winced when her father announced she had prior notice about the situation. This only fueled Luke's building anger. "We need more time to talk about it. Why don't you leave the papers here and we'll get them to you when we're done."

"I suppose we can do that. I guess we're done then." Richard sighed and stood to leave.

"Richard, do you think I could ride with you back to the house? I had the maid drop me off and I think she's still out running errands," Emily said.

"Of course." With that, Richard and Emily left, oblivious to Luke's initial reaction to the news.

Once they heard the front door shut, Lorelai turned to Luke. He was already looking up at her with a very displeased look. "Your family crypt?" he asked in a low, frustrated voice.

"Just let me explain," Lorelai pleaded. "I was going to tell you about this."

"When? When were you planning to tell me that your father drew up papers saying I'll be legally obligated to be buried in Hartford?"

"I didn't think he was going to bring the papers today."

"And that's supposed to make things better? Oh and another thing, we weren't going to talk about it. We're supposed to discuss it! Talking involves me actually agreeing to this insanity! Discussing means I can yell!"

"I'm sorry! Ok? I don't know what you want me to say. I didn't think you'd react like this. We moved my cousin Cecile to make sure you had a place in that crypt."

"Are you insane?!? You don't move someone out of their eternal resting place to make room for someone else! I was born in Stars Hollow. I was raised in Stars Hollow. I've lived in this God forsaken town my whole life! I always thought I'd die in Stars Hollow- most likely in the diner. Then I thought I'd be buried in Stars Hollow. And now you're telling me that you want the funeral guys to take my body to Hartford to be buried with a bunch of dead rich people! What did you expect Lorelai? Did you honestly think I'd take this well?"

"I don't know! Just…just stop yelling at me for a minute."

"Is this why your father keeps taking me out to go golfing? He is trying to turn me into him isn't he? That way he won't be so ashamed of his poor son-in-law!"

"I'm sorry already! I don't know what you want me to say or do. Just…please. Stop yelling."

"God Lorelai, you have to stop doing this. You have to stop making decisions without consulting me first. Just like that God damn double date you agreed to. Did you ask me if I wanted to go? No. You just went on ahead and said yes. You never stop to think about what _I _want. What's next Lorelai? Are you gonna make me be Chris's friend? Is he going to pop in and out of our lives because you feel sorry for him? News flash, I'm not gonna feel sorry for that dead beat!"

"Christopher will always be a part of our lives. He's Rory's father."

"I'm Rory's father! I helped raise that girl. Not him! Where was he when Rory graduated from junior high? Or from Chilton? We're getting married Lorelai. This has to be a fifty-fifty partnership or it's not going to work!" Lorelai was silent. "To hell with it."

"What?"

"To hell with it. To hell with the Gilmore family crypt. To hell with Hartford. To hell with this wedding. To hell with it all! Do whatever the hell you want Lorelai. Sign the papers or don't, it's not going to matter what I want. It never does." Luke headed for the front door. He stopped when he was behind Lorelai and leaned close to her ear. "What does my opinion matter any way? I just run a diner."

Luke grabbed his coat and stormed out of the house, slamming the door behind him. The second the door slammed, Lorelai broke down into tears and Rory, Liz, and Rachel rushed to her side. She was crying hysterically and pleading to God not to take Luke from her.

Lane walked over to Patty and poured her another cup of coffee. "Did I miss anything at the meeting?" Lane asked.

"Not really. We just did a progress report," Patty replied. "It's a shame your band won't be performing at the wedding."

"I know, but Lorelai asked me to be a bride's maid and I jumped at the chance. Have you had any luck finding a musician?"

"Well, Luke and Lorelai want me to sing, but that still means I need someone to play instruments. And no offense sweetie, but some of the guys in your bands scare me."

"I'm sorry about that."

"Don't worry. Jess suggested someone and he's coming into town today to audition. He's coming from California!"

"California huh? Perhaps it's Greenday. They're from Oakland."

"Who?"

"Never mind. I'll go check on your food." Lane went to the kitchen to get Patty's food. When she came back, she couldn't believe who was sitting at the table with Patty.

"Lane, this is the musician I was telling you about earlier." The man stood and smiled at Lane. "Dave Rygalski."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": What will happen between Luke and Lorelai? Will this nasty encounter stop them from making it to the chuppah? And what about the double date with Max and Rachel?_**

**_Side note: I love Dave so I brought him back.Thefamiliar face that comes to participatein the weddingwas originally supposed to be Nicole, but I have other plans for her (don't wanna get into that drama just yet)._**

**A/N: After reading this over again, Luke comes off as a bigger jerk than I expected. But I need the angst. I hate it, but I need it. I apologize for any editing errors. I'm trying out a new beta reader and they kind fell through. In other words, they totally bailed on me.**


	19. Make up or break up?

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 19**

Rory cleared herself a path by kicking the clothes, beer bottles, and other random items on the floor out of her way. When she finally reached the bed, she shook her head at the sight. She lifted the bucket of ice cold water and dumped it on Luke. "Jesus Christ!" he yelled as he jumped out of the bed, wide awake now.

"Good morning sunshine," Rory joked.

Despite the fact that there was a constant buzzing in his ears and he was so cold he could barely focus, he recognized that voice. "Rory?" he called. "What are you doing here?"

"I was about to ask you the same question."

Luke sighed and sat on the edge of the bed. "Your mother and I had a fight yesterday."

"I know. I was there."

"This wasn't just any fight Rory. This was a _big _fight. Bigger than any fight we've ever had."

"So you're just going to stay here? I know this isn't what you want. Look around you. You stayed here one night and there's like twenty beer bottles on the floor, your clothes are everywhere, and I don't even want to know what that thing is. Come home Luke. We need you. Mom needs you. She's really sorry about what happened yesterday. She misses you like crazy."

"She does?"

"She stayed up all night waiting for you to come home, then cried herself to sleep when she realized you weren't." Luke sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "I don't want you to breakup with Mom."

"We're not breaking up. We're fighting."

"Fights lead to breakups. The whole town is talking about the fight and speculating a breakup."

"It hasn't even been twenty four hours."

"Babette- need I say more? By the way, Patty's wondering why you didn't stop by earlier."

"I can't just go home, say I'm sorry, and everything will be better. It doesn't work that way."

"No, but it's a start." Rory sat next to Luke. "Go home. Say you're sorry and do whatever you two do to make up. Just make up. Please. For Jess and my sanity, do it."

He stayed quiet as he stared down at his hands. "I have to get ready for work."

Realizing he was trying to get rid of her, Rory went back downstairs. Luke stood up and looked around the small space. He sighed, realizing Rory was right. Sometimes he hated when she was right. Damn her for being so smart.

* * *

Lorelai pulled the covers closer to her body. She didn't get much sleep the night before- probably an hour or so. She couldn't stop thinking about Luke and their fight. She'd never seen him so angry. Not even the boat got him that mad. She missed him so much she was wearing one of his shirts just so she could smell like him. She felt pathetic. No man has ever felt this weak. Not even Christopher. But Luke did. He made her feel so weak without him, she didn't even have a taste for coffee. 

She was drifting off when she heard someone walk into the room. She peeked over the covers and there was Luke. He heard her moving around on the bed and looked over his shoulder.

"I didn't have any clothes at the apartment. I just need to change and I'll leave so you can go back to sleep," he said.

_Why is he doing this to me?_ she thought. Didn't he know how much pan she was in? Did he even care? Maybe she had pushed him too far this time. Maybe she should apologize. Before she did anything, she need to talk to him. "You stayed in your apartment?" she asked. Her voice was strained from crying all night and Luke noticed.

He cringed at the pain in her voice. _What kind of monster are you?_ he scolded himself. "Yeah."

Lorelai couldn't stand the silence anymore. They could barely keep up a conversation and it was killing her. "Luke..."

"I had to see you," Luke interrupted. "I couldn't take it anymore. I had to come here and see you. I hate fighting with you. I don't want to fight anymore. This morning I was sitting in my old apartment and I looked around, then I remembered what it was like to be a bachelor. I hated it. I hated going home to an empty apartment and bed at night and waking up alone in the morning. I hated not holding you at night. I never want to go through that ever again Lorelai. I'm sorry. I'm so very sorry for being a jerk. I'm sorry for yelling."

"I'm sorry for pushing you to yell. I'm sorry for not consulting with you about the double date and the crypt. I've never seen you that angry before. What happened?"

"I lost it. I was sitting there and your father was talking about the family crypt and I snapped. It's a big deal to have your father expect me to be buried with your family. And..." Luke froze when he realized what had caused his outburst the other day. "It scared me. I was scared."

"What do you mean you were scared? Scared of the family crypt? Scared of what?"

"I was scared of us. For the first time in our relationship, I'm actually scared of us. The idea of committing to you, to me, to us- it scares me. Heaven help me, it scares me."

"Well right now, you're scaring me."

"I've always done things for myself. I've been making my own decisions, controlling my own life. And now, I'm making decisions that will affect you and me. I'm going to be a permanent part of your life and I'm afraid I'm going to screw up. I'm afraid of disappointing you."

"You can never disappoint me Luke Danes. It's ok if you screw up. You're only human."

"I just want to make you happy."

"I'll tell you one thing, yelling will definitely _not_ make me happy. Luke, when I said you were the perfect man, I meant it. You _are_ the perfect man even if you make a few mistakes. You always know what to say and how to fix things. Like right now. You climbed two stories and risked your life by walking a very thin ledge just to make things ok between us. I don't know about you, but I don't know many men that would do that." Luke looked up at Lorelai and smiled. "So are we making up or breaking up?"

"Making up. Definitely making up."

"Good. Now, about that family crypt. What's the big deal there?"

"I won't fit in."

"Yeah you will. We moved cousin Cecile remember?"

"That's not what I meant. And, by the way, that is very wrong. What I meant was that your family was..._is_ a very powerful, influential, _rich _part of high society and I'm just a diner guy."

"Luke, you'll be dead. It's not going to matter. Besides, do you think I'm really going to fit in with the rest of those snobs? I got pregnant when I was sixteen and ran away after I had Rory. Not exactly fitting in with the rest of my who-ha family."

"They're still your family." Luke took Lorelai's hands in his. "I always imagined myself buried in Stars Hallow. But if it means that much to you, I'll be buried in your family's crypt."

"Are you sure?"

"Positive. It doesn't matter where I'm laid to eternal rest. What's important is _who_ I'm laid to eternal rest next to…or under…or on top of."

"Dirty."

"You know what I mean." Lorelai laughed and hugged Luke's arm. "You do know that we have to have make-up sex to officially make-up right?"

"Oh most definitely. When do you wanna have this make-up sex?"

"Now's good for me."

"Me too." Lorelai giggled when Luke rolled on top of her and brought her down to the mattress.

* * *

"Wow," Lorelai exclaimed. 

"You've said that ten times," Luke laughed as he ran his finger up and down Lorelai's bare side.

"Yeah and the it still applies. We should argue more often."

"How about we pretend we fight and just make up?"

"Sounds good to me. Before we 'make up' again. We need to get something settled first." Lorelai grabbed the phone and dialed a number. "Hello? Dad? It's Lorelai."

"Lorelai, what are you doing?" Luke asked in a loud whisper.

She shushed him by putting a finger to her lips. "Everything's fine. I just wanted to call to tell you Luke isn't going to be buried in the crypt. We're going to be buried in Stars Hallow. Yes. We- as in Luke and me. I know you have a place reserved for me. I'm sorry Daddy, but this is the decision I made. Ok. I'll talk to you later. Bye." Lorelai put the phone down and smiled at Luke.

"Lorelai, what did you just do?"

"You were right Luke. It doesn't matter where I'm buried. It matters who I'm buried with. _We_ will be buried in Stars Hallow."

Luke shifted so he was hoovering above Lorelai and kissed her passionately. "Thank you."

She pulled him down onto her and just as they were about to get intimate again, something came crashing through the wall. A second later, Kirk appeared in lift right outside the hole.

"Kirk!" Luke yelled. "What the hell is going on?"

"I'm knocking down the wall like the diagram says to," Kirk replied. "Oh, I'm sorry. Did I interrupt something?"

"Yes you interrupted something! Kirk, you're not supposed to knock this wall down."

"But the...oh would you look at that. The diagram's upside down. Hm. I was ten yards off. And on the wrong side of the house. My apologies." Kirk lowered the lift. Luke probably would have attacked him if Lorelai hadn't reminded him that he was still naked.

* * *

Lane continued to stare at Dave. She was happy to see him again, but at the same time she wasn't. How could he just suddenly show up in Stars Hallow? He could have called to tell her. She hadn't even heard from him in over a year. Now was her chance to talk to him. He had been sitting at the table for almost two hours ordering nothing but coffee and fries on occasion. She grabbed the coffee pot and walked over to his table. 

"Another refill?" she asked.

"That's be great. Thank you," he replied. He watched her as she refilled his cup and looked down when she looked at him. "How long have you been working here?"

"Almost two years."

"Cool."

"How'd you hear about Luke and Lorelai's wedding?"

"Jess Mariano. I ran into him in California when I was playing at a club. He was a bartender."

"I didn't know you and Jess were such good friends."

"We're not really. He called last week to ask for a favor. Said his uncle was getting married and they needed a musician for the ceremony. I hopped the first flight I could for an audition and here I am."

"How long are you going to be in town?"

"Actually, I'm transferring."

"To Stars Hallow Community?"

"More like Yale."

"You're going to Yale?"

"Yup. I like California and all, but my family is here. It'll just be easier on me if I went to school in Connecticut. We should hang out before I go back to California."

"I'd like that."

"Tomorrow night ok with you?"

"It's perfect."

"Great. It's a date." Dave stood and put money on the table. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Tomorrow." Dave smiled at her as he got up to leave. He glanced at her one more time before walking out the door. He wasn't about to make the same mistake twice.

* * *

Rory and Logan were in the living room when they heard Lorelai, Luke, Rachel, and Max walk in the front door. "Hey guys," Luke greeted. "What are you two doing?" 

"She's reading, I'm resting," Logan joked. "It was a long day."

"Where's Jess?" Lorelai asked.

"In his room reading," Rory replied. She could see a hint of disappointment in her mother's eyes, but decided to ignore it. She didn't need to get in a fight with her right now.

"Hey, we were gonna watch a movie," Rachel said. "Why don't you join us? It's _Pearl Harbor_."

"I'm for the movie. Just tell me how you got these macho men to agree to it," Rory said.

"I'm weak and succumb to pressure easily," Max joked.

"Did the good looks and charm of Ms. Gilmore get to you Luke?" Logan teased.

"Kid, when you get older, you learn a thing or two about women," Luke joked as the plopped onto the couch. "And one of those things is this: let them pick the movie. An emotional woman is a cuddling woman in bed."

Lorelai playfully swatted Luke's arm as she sat next to him. "We'll see if there's any 'cuddling' tonight," she joked.

"There is no one I would rather cuddle with than you Crazy Lady."

"Right back at you Coffee Man." Lorelai smiled at Luke and placed a soft kiss on his lips.

"I'm telling you guys, the best part of fighting with your girl, is the make up sex," Luke joked.

Lorelai swatted Luke's arm again as Logan and Max started to crack up. "Don't tell them that!"

"Yes, please don't tell us that," Rory said, only half joking.

"I second that," Rachel said.

"I swear, I think he's going to pick fights with me just for the 'making up' part," Lorelai sighed.

"I'm glad you guys made up," Rory smiled as she and Logan moved to the floor.

"Me too. We 'made up' five times today," Luke teased. This time, Luke got a pillow to the face.

Max and Rachel got comfortable on the other end of the couch. Once everyone was comfortable and the popcorn was ready, they started the movie. Some time later in the night, Jess finally emerged from his room for a drink of water. He was half way down the stairs when he looked up and saw a room full of people- including Rory and Logan. His heart sank at the sight of the happy couple, but when he realized Lorelai had seen him he continued on his way.

Lorelai seemed to be the only person to notice Jess because no one moved. She was going to tell Luke she was getting something to drink so she could follow Jess, but when she turned to her fiancé he was fast asleep. She got up and went to the kitchen.

Jess turned around and saw Lorelai. "I was just getting something to drink," he said, putting his cup in the sink. "I'm gonna go back t my room and I won't bother you for the rest of the night."

"Jess wait," Lorelai said, catching him before he walked into hearing range of the others. "I didn't know he'd be here."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I saw the look in your eyes when you came downstairs earlier."

"You a therapist now?"

"I'm sorry you had to see them together."

"He's her boyfriend. They're going to be together."

"And it's going to kill you."

"I have to pack for tomorrow."

"Alright. I want you to know I want you to be happy too Jess." Lorelai let Jess go. Just as he was about to walk out of the kitchen, Lorelai spoke again. "And for the record, I was rooting for you this time."

* * *

_**Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": The gang moves into the old Danes residence. Lukespeaksofhis and his family's past as he comes across various memorabilia from hislife and a family chest.Logan delivers a mysteriousinvitation to Luke and Lorelai. Lane tells Rory she's stuck between Dave and Zach.**_


	20. Moving Day

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 20**

Luke, Lorelai, and Jess unloaded their bags from Luke's truck and Jess's car. Lorelai and Jess brought in the bags as Luke hauled in the heavy boxes. Luke put a box down among the growing stack and looked around the house. It had been nearly two decades since he last set foot inside. He moved out the day of his father's funeral, signing property rights over to Buddy and Mazie. His eyes roamed the living room and fell on a reclining chair that belonged to his father.

"Hey," Lorelai called. "Break time is _after_ we bring in all the stuff."

"I'm the one bringing in the hundred pound boxes," Luke joked. "What's in these anyway?"

"Rory's books. Tom said we needed to get them out of her room or they'd be destroyed."

"This is the last box."

"And these are the last of the bags," Jess said as he dropped the bags in his arms.

"Good. Buddy left the keys on the counter. There are four so each of us will have one. That way, we won't have to worry about having to break in when no one's home." Luke gave Lorelai and Jess their keys and pocketed his and Rory's.

"Are we going to get a grand tour or should we wander around, hoping nothing tries to eat us?" Lorelai joked.

"This is the living room. That's the bathroom. Through there is the kitchen. There's a back door in the kitchen and an entrance to the dining room. You can get to the dining room if you take a right in the foyer."

"Luke, I don't care where the dining room and jacket closet is. All I want to know is where I'm staying," Jess said.

"The rooms are upstairs. The first door on the left is the bathroom. Rory's gonna be in Liz's old room. That's up the stairs, down the hall, second door on the left. Jess, you'll stay in my old room. It's right across from Liz's room, second door on the right." Jess grabbed his bags and went upstairs. "And we are in my parents' room at the end of the hall. I can bring the boxes out to the garage so they're not in the way."

"Great. Do you want some help?"

"You're going to help me bring those boxes out to the garage?"

"God no. I'll hold the door open for you."

"That's what I thought," Luke said as he picked up one of the boxes. "This way to the garage."

Lorelai followed Luke outside and opened the garage door for him. She followed him inside and looked around. "This doesn't look a thing like our garage."

Luke gently placed the box down. "My father turned this into his workshop. He'd build and fix things in here." He walked over to an unfinished bench and placed his hand on it. "This place is filled with projects he never got to finish. After store hours, you could always find my old man in here working on something."

Lorelai walked over to the work bench. There was a picture of Luke and his father on the board. "You look so young in this picture. How old were you? Sixteen? Seventeen?"

"Close. Eighteen. That's the old toolshed at the Independence Inn after we fixed it up for a young single mother working as a maid." Lorelai looked up at Luke with a shocked expression. "It was the last project my father and I worked on together. About thirty seconds after that photo was taken, my father had a heart attack. He'd been fighting leukemia since I was thirteen and he went into remission after a few years. Then he just got really sick. He never got better."

"You look just like him." Lorelai smiled and hugged Luke.

After a minute or two, Luke put the picture back on the board. "I need to finish bringing the boxes out here. You should go inside. It's cold. Come on, I'll walk you in." Lorelai looped her arm with Luke's as he brought her back into the house.

After bringing out all the boxes, Luke walked into the house. He found Lorelai in the living room looking at the picture assorted on the mantle, paying extra attention to the ones with him in them. She picked up a picture of Luke and a girl at some kind of dance.

"That's me and Rachel at Senior Prom," Luke said, making his presence known.

"I thought she looked familiar," Lorelai joked. "I knew you guys went back, but I didn't know you were high school sweethearts."

"We weren't. Her boyfriend dumped her a month before the prom for my girlfriend."

"Harsh."

"The guy was one of my best friends and he stabbed me in the back. I wanted to kill him, but I refrained myself. I wanna show you something." Luke took Lorelai by the hand and lead her up to the attic. "There's over two hundred years of Danes family history in this attic. My family has been here since the town's founding."

"Wow. That's a long time. Hey, maybe one of your ancestors was the town's founders."

"Yeah right. When my dad passed away, Liz and I packed his and Mom's most prized possessions, packed them in a trunk, and brought it up here."

Lorelai walked over to the trunk and opened it. On top of everything were two pictures. She recognized one from downstairs. It was a photo of Luke and Liz as kids standing in front of their parents. The second picture was of Luke, Liz, and a little boy she assumed was Jess. They way they were dressed, it was safe to say they were at a funeral. "Who's funeral was it?" she asked.

"Dad's. I brought you up here because I want you to know my family. I could tell you stories for hours, but these trunks will tell you more than I ever could."

Lorelai grabbed Luke's face and brought his lips to hers."Can I look around?"

"By all means, please do."

She stood up and went to open another trunk. She pulled out a military uniform and looked at the name on the shirt: 'Col. L. Danes'. "What does the L in L. Danes stand for?"

"Lucas. Preferably Luke."

Lorelai dropped the shirt and looked up at Luke. "You were in the military?"

"Colonel Luke Danes was my grandfather. He was a World War II vet."

"So that would make you Luke II."

"It would seem that way. And before you make any witty remarks, I should remind you Jess and I have to get to the house and you have to go to the inn."

"We meeting back here for dinner?"

"Sounds good. I'll grab food from the diner."

"You're a saint."

"That's what they say."

* * *

Rory had just walked into her dorm when the phone began to ring. She dropped her bag and ran to answer it. She had barely seen or heard from Logan and she hoped it would be him calling. "Hello?" she asked. 

"He took me to Silvano's," Lane said immediately.

"Hey Lane. Who took you to Silvano's?"

"Dave."

"Rygalski?"

"No, Matthews. Of course Rygalski! He's in town to audition for your mom's wedding."

"I'm pretty sure she's set on marrying Luke."

"Rory, this is not the time to be joking! Dave took me to a fancy restaurant. He's wearing a tie!"

"You're still at the restaurant? Why did you call me if you're still out with Dave?"

"He's in the bathroom. I never ended things with him."

"Yes you did."

"No. No I didn't. We stopped talking, but we never officially ended our relationship. It was a break. We were on a break."

"Before you get all Ross on me, let's think about this calmly. Maybe he wants to pick things up where you guys left off."

"That's what I'm afraid of! I'm supposed to be with Zach. Zach and I are together."

"Then end it with Dave."

"But I like Dave."

"Then end it with Zach."

"I like Zach too."

"We're not getting anywhere missy."

"That's why I called you. I need your help."

"I am not going to tell you who to dump."

"I'm stuck. I'm stuck between my boyfriend and my...boyfriend. It's kinda like what happened with you, Dean, and Jess."

"This conversation just took an uncomfortable turn."

"How did you pick between them?"

"I can't tell you who to pick. You need to follow your heart. Someone's going to have a broken heart in the end and I prefer it not be you."

"Thanks. Man, I suddenly have a whole new respect for Jess. Now I know why he's so grumpy."

"I didn't pick Dean over Jess."

"But you did pick Logan over Jess."

"What are you talking about? Jess was never in the picture during my relationship with Logan."

"Sure he wasn't. I have to go. Dave is on his way back. I'll talk to you later. Bye."

Lane hung up before Rory could say something. Rory put the phone down and thought about what Lane said. Jess isn't an issue. Was he? The phone began to ring again. "Hello?" she asked.

"Hey Ace."

* * *

Luke, Lorelai, and Jess were in the middle of dinner when the doorbell rang. Lorelai was about to get up to answer it, but Luke stopped her. "I'll get it," he said. He got up and went to answer the door. It was Logan. "Logan." 

"Good evening Mr. Danes," Logan greeted with a smile. "This is a lovely house."

"Please tell me you didn't drive all the way out here to tell me that. I'm in the middle of dinner."

"I'm here to drop this off." Logan handed Luke an envelope.

"What's this?"

"You're going to have to open it to see. Oh and it's for your and Ms. Gilmore's eyes only."

"It's not money is it?"

"No sir."

"Then what is it?"

"Again, you'll have to open it to see."

"Why didn't you just mail it?"

"My father strictly requested I deliver it and put it your hands personally."

"This is from your father?"

"Yes."

Luke looked down at the envelope in his hands. His and Lorelai's names were nicely written across it as 'Mr. Lucas A. Danes and Ms. Lorelai V. Gilmore'. "How does your father know my middle initial is A? My sister doesn't even know that."

"Let's just say my dad has his ways."

"Right. Is this all?"

"Yes sir."

"Ok. Have a good night and drive safe."

"Thank you." Luke closed the door and went back to the dinner table.

"Who was that?" Lorelai asked.

"Logan," Luke replied.

"What did he want?" Jess asked.

"Nothing. Eat your dinner."

"I'm not hungry anymore. I'm going to my room." Jess pushed his chair out and left the table.

Luke was about to stop him, but changed his mind when he realized it was pointless. After he and Lorelai finished their dinner and cleaned up, they went upstairs and got ready for bed. "What _did _Logan want?" she asked as they got into bed.

"He dropped something off from his father," he replied. He picked up the envelope on the nightstand and showed it to her.

"What does the A stand for?"

"Alexander."

"You're middle name is Alexander?"

"Why is that important?"

"Because now I can put 'Lucas Alexander Danes' on the wedding invitations," she teased, handing the envelope back to him. Her phone started to ring so she answered it. "Hello, the future Mrs. Danes speaking."

"I see you're already comfortable with the title," Rory laughed.

"You don't even know. What's up?"

"Nothing. Just checking how you're liking the temporary living arrangement."

"It's great. I've search the entire interior of the house. You get to stay in Liz's old room."

"I figured. How big is the house?"

"It's pretty big. Four bedrooms, two and a half baths."

"Can't wait to see it. Tell Luke I say hi."

Lorelai turned to Luke, who had opened the envelope and was looking over what seemed to be an invitation. "Rory says hi."

"Huh? Oh. Hi," Luke said. "Do you think I can talk to her for a minute?"

"Sure. Hey Rory, Luke wants to talk to you." Lorelai handed the phone to Luke.

"Hey Luke," Rory greeted.

"Hi Rory," Luke said. "Hey, you took Latin right?"

"Yes I did."

"Good. I have a question for you."

"I'm listening."

"What does 'In Omnia Paratus' mean?"

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": On the dawn of the long awaited engagement party, there are surprises around every corner. Lorelai is happily headed to the diner bright and early to surprise Luke. Her cheerful mood is suddenly crushed when she sees Luke walking down the street with a younger woman. Rory asks Logan about the invitation Mitchum sent to Luke and Lorelai. Luke reveals his motive to his behavior of late. Mitchum, Finn, and Colin make an appearance._**

**A/N: Just to give you a heads up, Rory's part of the Life and Death Brigade.**


	21. The Engagement Party

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 21**

Lorelai bundled up in warm clothes and headed to the diner. Both Luke and Jess had left already, leaving her all alone in the house. Luke said he was going to be at the diner, so Lorelai decided to surprise him before he left for the construction site. The excitement of the engagement party was giving Lorelai momentum to do something really crazy. She wasn't sure what crazy thing she was going to do, but waking up before seven was a start.

She was headed through town square with a smile plastered across her face. She walked into the diner and walked up to the counter. She was surprised when she saw Logan walk out of the back. "Logan? What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.

"Luke said he needed help. I don't have class today, so I offered to lend a hand," Logan replied.

"Is he in the back?"

"He's not here. He's probably at your house working on the rooms."

"Ok, thanks. Can I get a cup of coffee to go?"

"Of course." Logan poured Lorelai coffee and handed it to her. She dug through her purse for money, but he put his hand up in protest. "Mr. Danes said you're not to pay for anything."

"I swear, he's going to go out of business because of me."

"Have a nice day and I hope you find Luke."

"Thanks. See you later Logan."

Lorelai walked out of the diner and headed down the street, smile still in tact. That smile instantly faded when she looked across the street and saw Luke, but he wasn't alone. He was walking with a woman, a young, attractive woman, and he was grinning like an idiot as they talked. Lorelai couldn't believe it. The woman couldn't be a day over twenty five. How could Luke do this to her? Today was supposed to be a happy day. Her heart broke into a million pieces when the girl kissed Luke on the cheek. She dropped her coffee and ran back to the diner. Logan looked up when he heard the bells chime.

"Lorelai?" he asked. "What..." Lorelai ran past him before he could finish his sentence. This can't be good. He picked up the phone. "Mrs. Melville? This Logan Huntzberger, Rory's boyfriend. It's Lorelai. You need to get to Luke's diner right away."

* * *

"How could I be so blind?" Lorelai sobbed to Sookie and Rachel. "He was so happy. He was humming, getting up early, coming home late, and open about our sex life in front of people." 

"He talked about your sex life in front of people?" Sookie asked in shock.

"Not just anyone. He said it to me, Max, Logan, and Rory," Rachel replied. "This just doesn't sound like Luke. Are you sure he's seeing someone else?"

"I saw him with _her_ twenty minutes ago," Lorelai replied, a little more calmly. "They were across the street, walking and laughing and smiling. She looked like she was in her twenties."

Just then, the door opened and Luke stepped into the apartment. "Lorelai," he called. "Good, you're here. Are you ok?"

"What do you care?" she bit. She noticed the young woman from the street standing behind Luke and fury got the best of her. She picked up a book and threw it at her fiancé.

Luke blocked the book with his arms. "Lorelai! That almost hit me! What the hell has gotten into you? Why are you throwing books at me?"

"Oh, like you don't know."

"No. I don't know! My cousin was on a train for fourteen hours just to meet you and you're not giving her a pleasant first impression." Lorelai's rage turned into embarrassment. She started to laugh and threw her arms around Luke's neck. "She isn't always this crazy."

Lorelai kissed Luke's cheek. "Hi. I'm Luke's fiancé, Lorelai Gilmore."

"Hi Lorelai. I'm Michelle Danes. The Colonel's daughter and Lucas's cousin. And don't worry, he has been with weirder women," Michelle joked.

* * *

Rory ran into the diner. She arrived in town an hour ago. She met up with Jess to get her key at the construction site. She hoped to see Logan there, but Jess said he didn't show up. So she went to the old Danes house, unpacked, and headed to the diner for coffee. She was surprised to see Logan standing behind the counter taking orders, but didn't ask. "We need to talk," she said, grabbing him by the shirt and dragging him to the upstairs apartment. 

"Where's the fire Ace?" Logan joked. Rory pulled out the invitation from Mitchum. "What's that?"

"That's what I was going to ask you. I called my mom on Monday and Luke asked me what 'In Omnia Paratus' meant. When I asked him where he heard the phrase he said it was on the invitation _you_ delivered to him on behalf of Mitchum Huntzberger. Logan, why is your father sending my mother and Luke an invitation with the brigade's emblem plastered on the front?"

"I don't know. I didn't know what the hell I was delivering. My father just told me to deliver it."

"I don't get it. What does the brigade want with my parents?"

"I'm not sure. Something's not right. My father would _never_ do something like this unless he's got a motive. He and the brigade elders are up to something. They gotta be."

"You don't think the brigade's going to do something to them do you?"

"To be honest, I'm not sure."

"So what should we do?"

"There's nothing we _can _do. I've got a bad feeling about this Ace. A _very_ bad feeling."

* * *

The entire town shut down for Luke and Lorelai's engagement party. All the shops and stores closed early and everyone put what they were doing down to go to Patty's. In the studio, there was a raised platform with two throne like chairs near the stage. A banner hung above the platform that said, "Congratulations Luke and Lorelai." Patty and Taylor stood at the podium set up on the stage. 

"Ladies and gentlemen, we thank you for joining us today to celebrate a joyous announcement. I am proud to announce that the unspoken king and queen of this great kingdom of Stars Hollow are to be wed!" The crowd cheered.

"Without further ado: her majesty Lorelai Gilmore of the Gilmores of Hartford, the Queen of Coffee," Taylor said.

"And his majesty Luke Danes of the Danes of Stars Hollow, the King of All Things Flannel."

Luke and Lorelai walked into the room and headed for the platform. Lorelai was wearing a dress much like the one she wore to Liz's wedding, except it was baby blue. Luke was in a suit with a baby blue tie to match Lorelai's dress. "This is ridiculous," Luke whispered to Lorelai as they stood in front of the thrones. "My sister is insane for doing this."

"I think it's cute," Lorelai whispered back.

"You think everything's cute."

"I'd now like to introduce you to the maid of honor and best man: Princess Rory, keeper of all books and Prince Jess, keeper of his majesty's diner," Taylor introduced. Rory and Jess, both in crowns, took the staircases on either side of the platform and stood beside Luke and Lorelai.

"To crown our king and queen, I give you King Richard and Queen Emily of Hartford," Patty said.

Richard and Emily headed toward the platform. They too were wearing crowns. Richard carried a crown for Luke and Emily carried a crown made of flowers for Lorelai. They took the front staircase and placed the crowns on Luke and Lorelai's heads.

"Hold on, there's something missing," Jess said loudly. He pulled out Luke's baseball cap and put it under the crown on Luke's head. The crowd burst into laughter. "Ok, now we can continue."

"Let the festivities begin!" Lorelai yelled once the crowd died down. She and Luke descended the staircase to mingle with their guests.

* * *

Lorelai walked around the room in search of Luke. Jackson said something to him an hour ago and now Luke was gone. She interrogated him about Luke's whereabouts, but he gave nothing away. As she made her way through the crowd, she accidentally bumped into Rory. "Oh, sorry Rory," Lorelai said. " Have you seen Luke?" 

"No. Have you seen Logan?" Rory asked.

"Nope. Sorry kiddo." Lorelai noticed the two men with Rory.

"Oh, Mom, these are some of Logan and my friends from school, Finn and Colin."

"Hello Ms. Gilmore," Colin greeted.

"Lovely party ma'am," Finn smiled.

"Yeah, it's very eccentric," Colin laughed.

"Just like the people in this town," Lorelai said. "I'd love to chat, but I need to find my fiancé."

"Isn't that him?" Finn asked, pointing to the stage.

Lorelai looked to the stage. Luke was standing in front of a microphone with a guitar. "Can I have everyone's attention please?" he asked. "I've been working on a little surprise for Lorelai for a few weeks now. I want to thank Miss Patty and the band here for helping me out. Dave Rygalski was supposed to be helping me with the guitar, but he couldn't make it tonight. A big thanks to Mr. Logan Huntzberger for standing in. So, I, uh, I'm…I'm gonna get on with this." Luke began to play his guitar and opened his mouth to sing Edwin McCain's "I'll Be".

Lorelai couldn't believe it. Luke hated singing. He barely ever sang to himself, let alone other people. She had to admit, he was a pretty good singer and guitarist. 

Luke kept his eyes locked with Lorelai's as he sang. He hated singing. He hadn't let a musical note escape his lips or finger tips for a very long time. But this was for Lorelai. He would do anything for her and he wanted to make sure she knew that.

When Luke and the other musicians finished the song, the entire studio erupted in applause. No one in Stars Hollow would have thought their resident hermit was so musically talented. Luke and Logan headed off the stage and made their way through the crowd to Lorelai and Rory.

"Oh my God Luke," Lorelai smiled as she threw her arms around Luke's neck. "You were great!"

"So you liked it?" Luke asked.

"Liked I? I loved it!"

"Are you sure it was ok? I spent days trying to figure out what song to sing. I know you wanted me to sing a Gary Allen song, but..."

"Gary Allen? Why would I want you to sing a Gary Allen song?"

"That night we fell asleep in the living room. You said something about country and Gary Allen and I figured you liked country and Gary Allen so I…you don't like country or Gary Allen do you?"

"_You _like country and Gary Allen."

"No I don't. I mean I can stand country, but I don't necessarily like it."

"You have a Gary Allen CD. I saw a Gary Allen CD in one of your boxes."

"My cousin works for a record label and he sent me a bunch of CDs of artists under the label. I didn't actually go out and buy a Gary Allen CD."

"I was teasing you."

"I've been getting up at four A.M., working through my breaks, and staying late after closing hours to practicing how to sing and play guitar all because you were teasing me. I've been working with Patty everyday for the past five weeks."

"That's where you've been going?"

"Yeah. Where did you think I was?" Lorelai just laughed and hugged Luke.

* * *

Logan and Rory sat at their table as they watched Luke and Lorelai dance with their guests. At the moment, Luke was dancing with Patty and Lorelai with Morey. "Luke's danced with just about every woman here," Logan laughed. "Well, except the woman with Liz." 

"Oh, that's Crazy Carrie. He's rightfully keeping his distance," Rory joked. She looked around the room and gasped when she saw Mitchum enter the studio. "Oh my God. Logan, look." Logan looked toward the door. "What's your dad doing here?"

"I don't know. Stay right here. I'll find out." Logan got up and headed toward his father. "What are you doing here?"

"Is that how you greet your father?" Mitchum asked.

"Dad, what are you doing here? You've met Luke once and you don't even know Lorelai. Did the Gilmores invite you?"

"Why are you so angry I'm here? You asked your friends to attend."

"What do you want with Luke and Lorelai?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"I…" Logan leaned closer to his father and spoke in a whisper. "I know about the invitation."

"Am I supposed to act surprised?"

"What does the brigade want with Rory's parents?" Mitchum said nothing. "I know the brigade is up to something."

"Excuse me?"

"Look Dad, tell the brigade elders to leave Luke and Lorelai alone. They don't have to be a part of whatever you have planned."

"Have you forgotten who's sending you to college or pays for that nice little car you speed around town in? Don't pretend you know what you don't. Whatever the brigade has planned for Mr. Danes and Ms. Gilmore will not be halted. I suggest you stay out of this and out of our way."

Logan wanted to say something, but decided against it. Something was definitely up. Logan looked over his shoulder to see Rory had left their table to go talk to Jess. A minute later, they were on the dance floor. Maybe Dean was right. Maybe he underestimated Jess Mariano.

* * *

"Ladies and gentlemen," Kirk said into the microphone, getting everyone's attention. "The lovely couple would now like to share a special dance. If we could please clear the dance floor." 

Everyone walked off the dance floor. Luke held his hand out to Lorelai. When she gave him her hand, he gently pulled her into him and they started to sway to the music playing "A Love that Will Last" by Renee Olstead.

Just about everyone had paired off to join in the dance. Rory had figured Logan and Mitchum would be talking for a while, she went to keep Jess company. Their conversation ended as they watched the couple on the dance floor.

"Hey," he said suddenly. "Do you want to dance?"

"Who? Me?" Rory asked.

"There's no one else here. Come on. Dance with me. Unless you're afraid Logan might get mad."

"I'm not afraid of Logan and he's not going to get mad."

"Oh yeah? Prove it. Dance with me."

Rory realized Jess had pulled her into a trap. "You're good." He took her hand in his and led her to the dance floor.

"Hey, you're not a bad dancer," Rory said in surprised.

"I wanted to learn for when I took you to prom so I asked Luke to teach me," Jess explained. Rory raised a brow at his last statement. "Don't ask how he taught me. Just know he did."

"So you learned how to dance."

"For you."

"For me." Rory smiled at Jess and made the gap between them smaller as they danced.

* * *

"This has been a great party," Lorelai remarked. 

"I have to admit, it has been," Luke said. "If I'm saying it's good, you know it has to be."

"God Luke. Look how happy everyone is."

"Looking at you makes me happy."

"Keep talking like that and you just might get lucky tonight."

"Ah jeez. There are people around us Lorelai."

"You weren't so embarrassed to talk about our sex life in front of Max, Rachel, Logan, and _Rory._"

"I was drunk."

"You were not. I guess it was just the party that got you talking so freely."

"I guess so."

Lorelai looked around at the other couples dancing. A smile grew across her face when she spotted her parents. She couldn't believe it. Richard and Emily Gilmore were actually dancing together without any space between them and they were smiling. They were actually smiling!

"Look over there," Lorelai said, pointing to her parents. Luke looked in the direction Lorelai was pointing. "They look happy. Don't they look happy?"

"Yeah. They look happy."

Richard brought Emily's hand to his lips and kissed it. She smiled back at her husband and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Do you think they'll get back together?"

"They look like they want to."

"I hope they do. They were so happy together. I want them to be happy again."

Luke noticed a tear fall from Lorelai's eye. "I love you."

"I love you too." She kissed his on the lips and rested her head on his shoulder.

_

* * *

_Logan watched as Rory danced with Jess. He felt something in the pit of his stomach, but he couldn't figure out what it was. "Who's the townie dancing with Rory?" Colin asked. 

"Jess Mariano," Logan replied. "He's Luke's nephew."

"Wouldn't that make him Rory's cousin?" Finn asked.

"No. Jess shares no blood relation with Rory. They used to date."

"Really? And you're alright with her dancing with him?"

"It's just a dance."

"Between former lovers, it's never _just_ a dance," Colin remarked.

"I trust Rory."

"Yes, but do you trust him?" Finn asked.

* * *

**Editing Note: By request of FanFiction. Net, I removed the lyrics from this chapter.**

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Luke gets stuck with baby sitting duty when Sookie leaves her kids at the diner with him. Logan is surprised when he finds out his father hired a construction crew to finish the rooms for the Gilmore-Danes house. Dean warns Logan about Jess._**

**A/N: Ok, I need ideas for Sookie and Jackson's baby's name. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know because I'm out of ideas. Oh yeah, it's supposed to be a boy.**


	22. Baby Talk

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 22**

Luke was wiping down the counter when he heard the bells chime. He raised his eyes to see who had just walked in. It was Sookie and she was pushing a double stroller with her sons in it. "If Lorelai sent you on another coffee run, tell her she isn't getting any," Luke stated.

"That's not why I'm here, but I'll let her know," Sookie joked.

Luke looked up at Sookie. "Well, if you're not on a coffee run, how can I help you?"

"I'm glad you asked."

"Why do I get the feeling I'm about to get sucked into something?"

"I need a favor."

"What kind of favor?"

"You see, Jackson has to work today and there's a really important party at the inn..."

"And?"

"Can you watch the boys for me? Just for a few hours. Please Luke, I'm desperate."

"Sookie, I'd love to watch the boys for you, but..."

"Thank you! Thank you so much Luke! I owe you one."

"Oh. No, no, no. You misunderstood. I didn't...there was a but. There was a but at the end." Sookie didn't seem to be listening to Luke. She was babbling on about how to take care of the boys while he protested.

"Ok. I'll see you later boys. Mommy loves you." She kissed her sons and headed out.

Luke chased after her. "Sookie, no. You misunderstood. I can't watch them. This is a diner. Sookie...Sookie! You forgot your kids! Sookie!" It was hopeless. She was already driving away. He sighed and walked back into the diner, bringing the stroller behind the counter with him.

* * *

Luke walked out of the back just as Lorelai sat the counter. He noticed she was wearing his high school letterman jacket. "Where'd you get that?" he asked. 

"I found it in you old closet," she replied. She looked down at the words sewn into the jacket. It seemed he played a sport every season for the four years he was at Stars Holllow High. "It seems you were quite the jock Butch."

"Don't call me that. No one's called me Butch in years."

"Why did people call you Butch?"

"Because Spike and Rex were taken."

"Hey, maybe later we can make out under the bleachers."

"You just missed the football season."

"I can't believe my ever so sexy fiancé won't make out with me under the bleachers."

"Tell you what, you give up coffee for one day and I'll make out with you under the bleachers."

"Three cups the rest of the day."

"One."

"Two and we share a chocolate milkshake next door, at the counter, in front of Taylor."

"Two cups, vanilla milkshake at the counter, no Taylor."

"Deal." They shook on their deal and Luke went to get Lorelai some coffee. That's when she noticed the stroller behind the counter. "That isn't what I think it is, is it?"

"If you think it's Davey and Josh, then it's exactly what you think it is."

"Oh my God." Lorelai walked around the counter to check on Davey and Josh. "They shouldn't be here. What are they doing here?"

"Sookie left them here. What was she thinking? Somehow, Davey got sticky. I didn't give him anything sticky. I gave him an apple slice and he's sticky! And the other one...the other one cries. He cries until he falls asleep and when he wakes up, he cries again!" Josh began to stir in his sleep and started to cry. "See! There he goes again!"

"Ok, honey. Just calm down. Did you try to feed him?"

"Yes I tried to feed him. He's not hungry. And he's not wet either. I checked. I tried everything. He just keeps crying."

"I think he just wants to be held. Did you try picking him up?" Lorelai took Josh out of the stroller, but it only made him cry harder. "Ok, this isn't working. Here, you try."

"What? Me? No. I don't hold babies. I don't know how. When Jess was a baby, I dropped him."

"That explains a lot," she teased. "Just support his neck and it'll be fine." Lorelai handed Luke the baby. He just held baby Josh out in arm's length. "Luke, it's a baby. Not a bomb."

"I'm afraid I'll do it wrong."

"Well, you're doing it wrong now. You need to cradle him in your arms."

Luke nodded and did as Lorelai instructed. Baby Josh slowly stopped crying. "Hey. He's not crying anymore."

"You're a natural."

"You think so?"

"I know so. By the way, Tom called for you this morning."

"What'd he want?"

"He didn't say. He just said to tell you he called and to say it's urgent."

"I'll call him right now." Luke picked up the phone and called Tom. He cradled the phone between his shoulder and ear. "Tom, it's Luke. Lorelai said…ok. Ok. Calm down. What do you mean there's an extra crew?"

* * *

Logan got out of his car and headed to the house. He was half way up the path when Tom approached him. "Hey Tom," Logan greeted. "How's it going?" 

"Not so good," Tom replied. "We need to talk."

"Alright. What's wrong?"

"When me and my guys showed up this morning, there was a construction crew on the job already. They had finished one of the rooms and half of the other. They're almost done."

"That's great!" Tom shook his head. "That's not great. Why isn't it great?"

"Because those guys did the job. Not mine."

"Tom, I didn't hire those guys. Besides, what's it matter? Just as long as the job gets done."

"The matter is _my _guys don't get paid for what _those_ guys get done. Luke's paying us to do this job and if we don't work, we don't get paid. My guys need the money to survive Huntzberger."

"Maybe he hired a new crew to give us a day off."

"I spoke to Luke. He swears he didn't hire them. Besides, he would never do that to us."

"I didn't hire them Tom. I swear."

"I don't care who hired them, I just want them outta here." With that, Tom went back to work.

Logan went around the house in search of the new crew's leader. "Excuse me sir, are you the team leader for the new crew?" he asked one of the men.

"Yes am I," the man replied.

"Ok, uh. I think there's been a misunderstanding. You see, there's a crew on this project already. I don't know why you're here or who sent you, but I assure you, you're at the wrong place."

"I don't think so. This is thirty-seven Maple Street isn't it?"

"It is, but you see..."

"Look, Mr. Huntzberger told us to come here and finish up the job. We're just following orders."

"Did you say Huntzberger?"

"Yeah. Mitchum Huntzberger hired us."

"I should have known," Logan sighed. "You guys really need to leave. The original crew needs this job more than you ever know. My name is Logan Huntzberger. Mitchum is my father. I'll deal with the heat from the old man. You guys just go. Ok?"

"Whatever you say boss. Ok boys, pack it up!"

The men of the new crew gathered their things and headed out. Rory arrived in time to see Logan apologize to the men as they left. "What's going on?" she asked as she approached Logan.

"My father hired a crew to finish construction," Logan sighed. "I don't get it. What is he up to?"

"I don't know, but I'm sure it's not as bad as you think it is."

"You're probably right." He smiled at her. "So, what are you doing here? I thought you, Paris, and Lane were going shopping."

"We're about to head out. I just needed to drop something off. Have you seen Jess?"

"Jess? Uh, no. I haven't been here very long."

"Rory," Jess called as he jogged over. "Hey, did you bring it?"

"Would I deprive you of a good book?" Rory joked. She took a book out of her bag and handed it to Jess. "I made a few side notes I thought you should look over."

"I'm on my break right now. You wanna point a few out?"

"Sure. I'll see you later Logan." Rory and Jess sat on the porch and went over the book she had just given him. Logan watched as they bonded and told himself they were just friends. Rory and Jess were _just_ friends.

"I'd keep an eye on him," someone said to Logan.

Logan turned around to see Dean standing behind him. "I'm sorry, what was that?" Logan asked.

"Jess. You need to keep an eye on him or he'll snatch Rory from you."

"I don't know where you got this crazy idea, but you need to back off."

"I'm just trying to warn you. I know how Jess operates."

"They're just friends."

"That's what he wants you to think. He gets all, buddy-buddy with Rory. He sucks her in with the guilt card. Gets her to feel bad for him with his James Dean, rebel without a cause act and before you know it, she's kissing him in the middle of town for all the world to see."

"Ok man, you're way out of line."

"I know what I'm talking about Logan. Jess took Rory from me and he's gonna try to take her from you."

"You're really starting to tick me off Dean. Rory assured me she and Jess are just friends."

"Rory's a great girl, but she's naïve. She fell for it once and she'll fall for it again."

"If Rory says they're just friends, then I believe her."

"Whatever man. But don't say I didn't warn you." With that, Dean went back to work.

Logan turned to the porch. He watched as Rory and Jess talked and laughed together. "They're just friends," Logan said to himself. He intended to say it as a statement, but it came out like he was trying to convince himself.

* * *

Luke climbed into bed and let out a long sigh as he leaned back and closed his eyes. He and Lorelai decided to spend the night in his old apartment because he had an early delivery coming in and he didn't want to miss it. It had been a long day with running the diner, Tom's frantic calls, and having to watch the Melville boys. He surprisingly had a fun time watching the boys. 

"Long day dear?" Lorelai joked as she walked out of the bathroom.

Luke opened his eyes and looked up at her. His eyes widened at the sight of her pink nightgown. "Where did you get that?" he asked.

"A present from Rory."

"God bless that child."

Lorelai laughed as she climbed into bed with Luke. "Did I ever tell you about the dream I had when Rory was in Washington D.C.?"

"You'll need to be a little more specific."

"The one with the Great Alarm Clock Massacre." He stared at her. "In my dream, I woke up to a room full of alarm clocks. Needless to say, I made them stop. Hence the massacre reference."

"No survivors?"

"Hey! That's exactly what you said!"

"I was in your dream?"

"Yes. You were in my dream. You were in my dream, in the kitchen cooking me breakfast."

"Why didn't I just make you breakfast at the diner?"

"Stay with me babe. Anyway, so you try to trick me by putting decaf in my regular coffee bag."

"Didn't work?"

"God no. I could smell it. Of course, you gave up your pathetic attempt at decaf coffee and a healthy breakfast and handed over the good stuff. Then you kissed me."

"I kissed you?"

"You kissed me!"

"We weren't together when Rory was in Washington D.C."

"I know."

"How scandalous of me."

"I know. And that isn't all. You kissed me and then, get this, you talked to my stomach."

"Why would I talk to your stomach?"

"Because, apparently, I was pregnant. With twins!"

"Twins?"

"Yes twins. Do you know what else?"

"There's more?"

"I was wearing this exact nightie."

Luke stared at Lorelai for a minute. "Are you trying to tell me something Lorelai?"

"Huh?"

"Are you..."

"Oh! No! No, I'm not. I'm sorry Luke. I didn't mean to scare you."

"You didn't scare me. The story was just pretty random and I assumed."

"You know what they say about people that assume things."

"Yeah, well you know what they say about dreams. A dream is a wish your heart makes."

"Thank you Walt Disney."

"Actually, it's not so bad."

"When a thirty-eight year old man quotes a Disney movie to his fiancée, it's a little sad."

"Not that. I mean kids. You and me having kids. I like the idea."

"You do?"

"Yeah. I'd love to have a little boy or girl running around the house, keeping me on my toes. Watching Davey and Josh made me realize I want one."

"You want one?"

"Or two. Point of the matter, I want kids. It doesn't have to happen today, but someday. But not too far in the future. I'm getting older and my biological clock is ticking. We should have kids in the near future."

"I'm glad you feel that way."

"I am too."

"So..."

"So..."

"Do you wanna get started now?"

"You read my mind." Luke quickly rolled on top of Lorelai and started to kiss her as she giggled.

* * *

**A/N: I decided to name Sookie's baby after my little brother because he keeps bugging me whenever I try to write. Hahaha. Thanks for the suggestions.**


	23. I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus and so w...

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 23**

It was that time of year again. Christmas was on its way and Stars Hollow was preparing for the grand holiday. The shops had their holiday sales, lights were everywhere, carolers were sing house to house, and everyone was decorating their homes and businesses. Everyone except for Luke. He, like always, showed no interest in the festivities and refused to decorate the diner.

"Hey Luke," Kirk called as he walked into the diner with fliers in his hands. "Can I put..."

"No," Luke said without looking up from what he was doing.

"But you didn't let me finish my sentence. You don't even know what I was going to ask."

Luke put down his ordering pad and stared at Kirk. "You were going to ask if you could put one of those stupid fliers on my windows or pass them out in front of the diner weren't you?"

"Yes."

"Then my answer is no. I've said no every year you've come in here and asked to display them on my window or passed them out in front of the diner and my answer will always be no."

"I just thought you might have changed your mind this year since Lorelai's planning it and all..."

"Just because I'm sleeping with the party coordinator doesn't mean I'm gonna let you display those ridiculous fliers in my window."

"So that's a solid no?"

"Get out."

"But I was..."

"Out!"

Kirk turned around and headed out the door as Lorelai walked in. "What's with him?" she asked.

"He asked to put a flier on my window," Luke replied.

"I swear I thought I told him to skip the diner. Well, at least he asked." Lorelai sat at the counter. "Why won't you put up a flier anyway?"

"You know I hate those stupid town functions."

"Yeah, but I'm the head of this stupid town function."

"That just makes it worse."

"You're still going. It'd look bad if the party planner's fiancé didn't show up to the party she planned. So no tricky stuff mister."

"I can't believe that instead of spending our first night back in our house together, we'll be in town square in the freezing cold with a bunch of people I can't stand. What time do we have to be there?"

"Seven so close up by six."

"Six? Ah jeez."

"Hey, no pouting. It's Christmas."

"Not yet it isn't."

* * *

Luke was talking to Max and Jackson when Lorelai ran up to him. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I need to steal him away for a minute or fifty," she said, grabbing his arm and dragged him off. 

"What are you doing? I was talking to them," Luke said.

"They'll be there when you get back. I have a problem."

"You can say that again."

"My dad isn't here."

"When have you ever complained that your father wasn't here?"

"My dad's supposed to be Santa in five minutes and he isn't here."

"Oh. What are you gonna do?" Lorelai smiled at Luke. "No. No way. No. I'm not doing it."

"Luke, please!"

"No. Ask Jackson to do it."

"I can't. Davey would notice if his father was Santa and it'll scar him for life. Besides, you're the only other person that'll fit the suit."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means you're the closest person in height to my father."

"No. I am not doing it. I won't. There is no way you are going to get me into that costume."

* * *

"Alright boys and girls, Santa's here!" Lorelai announced. 

All the children began to cheer when Luke walked up the steps of the gazebo and stood by Lorelai. He couldn't believe it. He lacked the most in holiday excitement of everyone in town and here he was in the middle of town square, wearing a big red suit, pretending to be Santa. "This is ridiculous," he whispered to Lorelai. "I look like an idiot."

"You look like Santa," she whispered back. "Just smile, pretend to be happy, and remember that cute little outfit I'm wearing for you tonight. Say 'Ho, ho, ho'."

"Why?"

"Because that's what Santa says."

Luke rolled his eyes before taking a deep breath and belting out in his jolliest voice. "Ho, ho, ho!"

He forced a smile and sat down in the big chair in the middle of the gazebo. His smiled faded when Taylor walked up the steps. "Aren't you too old to sit on Santa's lap?"

"I wanted to take a picture to commemorate this moment in our town's history," Taylor taunted.

Luke motioned for Taylor to lean toward him. When Taylor was close enough to Luke, he grabbed Taylor by the collar. "If you take one picture of me and put it in the town history book, the second I get out of this thing I will kick your ass," Luke barked into Taylor's ear.

Taylor stepped back and looked at Luke in shock. "You should be ashamed of yourself."

"Ho, ho, ho." Taylor hurried off the gazebo and Luke put a smile back on his face. "Come on up little guy and sit on Santa's lap."

Ten minutes would pass before Luke would look up to see Richard and Emily in the crowd waving to him. Once the child on Luke's lap skipped down the steps, Rory stood in front of the growing line. "I'm sorry, but Santa has to go away for a minute," she announced. The kids in line groaned. "But don't go anywhere because he'll be back in five minutes."

Luke waved to the kids as he left the gazebo and went to find Lorelai and her parents. Rory watched as the four headed toward the diner for the costume switch.

"Hey," Jess called as he walked up to Rory. "Where they going?"

"My grandfather is going be Santa and Luke can go back to being Scrooge."

"Scrooge had a turn around. I'd say he's more of a Grinch."

"True, but he never wears green." They watched as Luke opened the door and Richard and Emily walked in, immediately heading for the apartment, but Lorelai stopped Luke from going inside.

"What's she doing?"

"I don't..." Rory covered her mouth when Lorelai pulled Luke back to the diner's doorstep and kissed him. "My mother is kissing Santa Claus!" she gasped so only Jess could hear.

"Looks like Santa's making a play," he gagged when Luke's hands traveled down to Lorelai's butt. "This is just wrong."

"What? That they're making out in public while he's dressed like Santa or that we're watching?"

"Take your pick."

* * *

Rory smiled at Richard as she passed the gazebo. He had been playing Santa for nearly two hours and his Ho, ho, ho, Merry Christmas's were still strong and loud. Rory spotted Logan with Finn and Colin. She walked up to them and tapped Logan on the shoulder. "Hey," she greeted. 

Logan turned around and smiled at Rory. "Hey," he said.

"When did you guys get here?"

"We've been here Ace."

"Really? For how long?"

"An hour and a half," Colin replied.

"We were going to get you, but you were with that dark haired fellow," Finn added.

"Who? Jess? We were just trying to avoid Mom and Luke," Rory said.

"It seems that you two are always doing something together," Logan mumbled.

"What was that?"

"Nothing. Hey, what did your folks say about me spending Christmas with you guys?"

"They thought it would be nice. But then again, Luke did find a shot gun collection in his attic."

"What?"

"I'm kidding. They'd be happy to have you over."

"Oh Rory, we found out what that invitation was Mr. Huntzberger gave your parents," Finn said.

Colin held out an envelope to Rory. "It's a New Years party the brigade is holding," he whispered.

"I checked it out. It's completely safe," Logan added. "The only craziness that'll be going on is the fact that Dad's making us all dress up. God forbid we interfere with the event's integrity."

"Something still doesn't add up," Rory sighed.

"Rory," Jess called as he approached the group. "Your grandma wants a Gilmore-Danes family picture while your grandpa's still Santa."

"While Grandpa's still Santa. Man that sounds weird. I'll see you guys in a minute."

Jess shoved his hands in his pockets. "Gentlemen," he said with a nod before following Rory.

Logan took a deep breath and watched as Jess and Rory walked away. "The brigade can take care of him if you'd like," Finn said.

"No," Logan said. "I'll take care of this myself."

* * *

Luke, Lorelai, Richard, Emily, Liz, T.J., Rory, and Jess gathered together on the gazebo and got ready for a picture. Luke sat in Santa's chair with Lorelai on his lap. Rory stood to the right of the chair with Richard and Emily behind her and Jess stood to the left with Liz and T.J. behind him. 

"Ok, everyone smile and on three, say cheese," Rachel instructed. "One, two, three."

"Cheese," they all said. Rachel snapped the picture and they all moved out of place.

"Hey, why do photographers tell you to say cheese?" Lorelai asked.

"What else are we supposed to say? Coffee?" Luke asked.

"I'd rather say coffee than cheese."

"This is a ridiculous conversation."

"I just want to know why we say cheese. Not everyone likes cheese."

"Not everyone likes coffee."

"Only the deprived."

"Is she talking about coffee again?" Rory asked as she and Jess joined Lorelai and Luke.

"What else would she be babbling about? Sometimes I think she loves coffee more than me," Luke joked.

"Well, it _is_ coffee," Jess teased.

"Oh my...Rory," Lorelai called, stopping suddenly. "Look."

Rory looked at what Lorelai was pointing at. Across the street, Richard- still in his Santa suit- and Emily were kissing under the tree in front of the diner. "Oh God! What is it with the women in this family and kissing Santa?" Rory asked in slight disgust.

* * *

Luke walked around the house and made sure everything was off. He unplugged the Christmas lights on the tree and bordering the window. He went to check on Rory before heading upstairs. He smiled when he saw her fast asleep in bed with a book in her hands. He walked in and put the book on the nightstand. He kissed the top of her head and turned off her light before leaving the room. Before going to his bedroom, he went to check on Jess. Sure enough, Jess was asleep with a book in his hands too. He put the book on the nightstand and turned off the radio. He ruffled Jess's hair before turning off the light and heading down the hall. Luke opened the door to his bedroom and grinned ear to ear when he saw Lorelai in a red and white Christmas teddy. 

"Looks like someone wants to be naughty," he joked as she walked over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I said if you put on the big red suit, I'd put on this little number for you," she said.

"Little is definitely the word." He leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

Lorelai pulled back and smiled. "Well, there's definitely nothing small about you."

"Hey, when do we find out about the other night?"

"In a week or so. It's still a little early."

"Do you really think we're ready to have a baby?"

"You were the one that wanted to start trying."

"I know. It's just…you're sure I'm ready right?"

"Yes Luke, you're ready."

"Good. Now, come sit on Santa's lap and I'll give you a gift you'll never forget."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Richard and Emily spend Christmas in Stars Hollow. Lorelai's wedding dress arrives and she has to lock it away so Luke doesn't see it. Logan's jealousy continues to rise when Jess gives Rory his grandmother's charm bracelet for Christmas. Richard and Emily make a special announcement. Lorelai has a special gift for Luke._**


	24. The best Christmas ever

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 24**

Jess was in the kitchen reading a book when he heard the doorbell ring. He didn't hear anyone get the door so he put his book down and went to answer it himself. He spotted Luke and Lorelai making out on the couch as he passed through the living room and shook his head. Luke's hands headed toward Lorelai's chest.

"Hands," Jess said loudly. Luke and Lorelai raised their hands in the air, but didn't stop kissing. Jess opened the door to find Richard and Emily on the other side. "Hello Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore."

"Hello Jess," Richard greeted.

"Good morning Jess," Emily greeted.

"Would you like to come in?" Jess asked.

"Yes we would. Thank you for asking," Richard said as he and Emily stepped into the house. They headed to the living room and paused when they saw Luke and Lorelai on the couch.

"Hey! Hands! I mean it. Don't make me get the hose," Jess threatened. "The in-laws are here."

Luke and Lorelai broke apart and jumped to their feet. "Richard, Emily," Luke said. "Hi."

"Mom, Dad, we weren't expecting you until tonight," Lorelai remarked.

"Your father wanted to beat the traffic," Emily explained.

"Oh. How bad was it?"

"There was none," Richard replied.

"I'll go get your bags out of the car," Luke said. He and Jess followed Richard to the car.

Rory heard her grandparents' voices and emerged from her room. "Hi Grandma," she smiled. She walked over to Emily and gave her a hug. "Where's Grandpa?"

"He's outside with Luke and Jess getting the bags from the car," Emily replied. "I thought you'd be spending the holiday with Logan."

"I am. Mom and Luke said he could spend Christmas with us."

"I thought it'd be nice to have three generations of smiling Gilmore couples for Christmas," Lorelai joked. "You know, Logan and Rory, me and Luke, you and Dad."

"Grandma, is that a smile I see?" Rory grinned.

"I was just thinking of something," Emily lied.

"Oh come on Mom. Don't act like you and Dad don't have a little thing going," Lorelai teased.

"We've all see you two together," Rory remarked. "The romantic dance at my engagement party, the giggling and flirting between you two, the make out session at the town Christmas party."

"By the way Mom, I'm sending you my psychiatry bill. So just tell us. Are you and Dad getting back together?"

* * *

Lorelai walked out of the kitchen and plopped on the couch next to Rory. Richard looked up from his book. "I thought you were helping Luke cook dinner," he said. 

"I got kicked out of the kitchen," Lorelai replied.

"What happened?"

"I set Luke's shirt on fire. Don't ask. It's a long, complicated story."

"Honestly Lorelai, you're an accident waiting to happen," Emily said.

"Gee Mom. Thanks for the booster. So much for learning to cook. Oh well. At least Sookie's in there helping Luke."

Just then, Sookie came walking into the living room with her head down. "Luke kicked me out of the kitchen," she announced sadly.

"Why would he throw you out of the kitchen?" Jackson asked.

"I accidentally set his pants on fire." Everyone gasped. "The flames just jumped onto his pants!"

"Hey, it's better than my pyromaniac episode," Lorelai joked.

"Poor Luke," Rory sighed.

"Wait, so he's in there cooking dinner in his underwear?" Logan asked.

"If we're lucky," Jess joked.

Lorelai was surprised when she heard the doorbell ring. She excused herself before going to answer the door. "Uh, hello," she said to the man at the door. "Can I help you?"

"I have a package for Ms. Lorelai Gilmore," he said.

"I'm Lorelai Gilmore."

"Sign here please." The man held a clipboard and pen out to her and handed her a large garment bag. "Have a nice day ma'am."

She unzipped the bag a little and looked at what was inside. "Oh my God. Rory! Sookie! Mom!"

"What's wrong?" Rory asked as she, Sookie, and Emily ran into the foyer. "And what is that?"

"It's my wedding dress," Lorelai replied in a whisper. "Some man came to our house and delivered my wedding dress to our door."

"But it's not supposed to be here until next month," Sookie remarked.

"I know that! How am I supposed to hide a wedding dress from Luke? He's going to see it."

"No. No he won't. We'll just hide it," Emily said.

"What about the other new room? Aren't you using it to work on dresses?" Rory asked.

"Yeah," Lorelai replied.

"Hide it there and lock the door so he can't get in. Or tell him the dress came a month early."

"Ok. Distract him so he doesn't see me with this."

"What should I do?"

"Set his hat on fire."

* * *

Lorelai stared at Luke as he slept and reached out to caress his cheek. She wanted to be sure it was real and that she wasn't dreaming him being in her bed. She found herself doing this every night for the past few weeks. A part of her still couldn't believe that she was getting married to Luke. Luke Danes, the guy that's been serving her coffee everyday for the last nine years, was going to be her husband in a month and a half. She got out of bed, put on her robe, and headed down the hall to her work room. She stared at her wedding dress she had put on a mannequin. She couldn't help herself. She disrobed and put the dress on. She stood in front of the full-length mirror and smiled. At that moment, she knew she wouldn't be continuing the ridiculous ritual she had put herself through every night for weeks. She had something else to do every night.

* * *

"Wake up! Luke, Mom, wake up!" Rory yelled as she ran into Luke and Lorelai's bedroom. 

"What's going on? Why are you yelling? " Lorelai asked as she quickly woke up. "Luke, wake up. I think something's wrong."

"Huh? What happened? What's wrong?" Luke asked frantically, still half asleep. His eyes finally focused and he glanced at the clock, then at Rory. "Rory, it's five A.M.. Is everything ok?"

"Everything's fine," Rory smiled.

"Then why did you come in here screaming?" Lorelai asked.

"Because it's Christmas!" Luke and Lorelai exchanged glances andthen they both threw a pillow at Rory. "Hey! Come on guys. Get up and we can open the presents."

"Go back to bed," Luke ordered as he sunk back into bed and pulled the covers over his head.

"But it's..."

"It'll still be Christmas in two hours. Go back to sleep," Lorelai interrupted. Rory sighed and left the room. They lay in bed, trying to go back to sleep, but it was useless. "I can't sleep."

"Me neither," Luke sighed. He got out of bed and headed to the door.

"What are you doing?"

"Going downstairs."

"Why?"

"To open the presents like Rory said. Come on."

"No."

"I saw like ten with your name on it."

Lorelai tossed the covers off and ran over to Luke. "What are we waiting for? It's Christmas!"

"Well look who decided to join us," Rory teased when she spotted Luke and Lorelai coming down the stairs. "Now that we're all here, we can start opening gifts."

"She's been holding us hostage down here for twenty minutes thanks to you," Jess said.

"You're lucky I didn't smoother you with a pillow last night," Luke bit back.

"Edgy aren't we?"

"It's early."

"This coming from a man that wakes up at four thirty every morning to open the diner."

"Not on Christmas I don't."

"Who should open the first present?" Rory asked excitedly.

"Not Mr. Sourpuss here," Jess teased. That comment earned him a pillow in the face from Luke.

"Before we open the gifts, Emily and I would like to make an announcement," Richard said. "It may come to be a surprise to you, but Emily and I have been getting closer as of late. We ended the separation the night of the engagement party."

"Grandma, Grandpa, that's great!" Rory smiled. She ran to her grandparents and hugged them.

"I'd be so much more excited if I didn't know that already," Lorelai joked.

"I beg your pardon?" Emily asked.

"What is she talking about?" Richard asked.

"She had a hunch that you two were getting back together," Luke replied. "She's been talking about it for weeks and swears it was true. I guess she was right."

* * *

"How do you like your gift Ace?" Logan asked. 

"I love it," Rory replied. She looked at the DVDs he had given her. "The Marx Brothers DVD collection, _The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking, Casablanca, Cool Hand Luke, The Princes Bride, Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. _This is the greatest DVD collection ever."

"Are there anymore gifts?" Lorelai asked.

"Actually, I have one for Rory," Jess said. He pulled a small box out of his pocket and handed it to Rory. "Merry Christmas."

Rory tore the wrapping off and opened the box. She had seen this before. It was in pictures at the old Danes home and Luke had told her stories about it. "Jess," Rory gasped.

"It belonged to my grandmother," he said as Rory took the charm bracelet out of its box. "My grandfather gave it to her on their first wedding anniversary with the cross charm. He gave her the blue 'L' the day Luke was born and the pink 'L' when my mom was born."

"Jess…I don't know what to say."

"A simple thank you will suffice."

"No. Jess, this is beyond amazing. It's the best Christmas gift ever. I love it. I'll keep it forever."

Logan's jaw tightened when Rory gave Jess a hug. He could feel the heat rising in him when Jess returned the hug. How dare he give her that bracelet? What was he trying to pull? Maybe he was trying to steal Rory from him. No, that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't going to allow it to.

"I've found three large boxes behind the tree," Richard announced. He pulled the boxes out. "This is to Rory from Luke. This says to Lorelai from Luke. And to Luke from Lorelai and Rory."

Rory took her box from Richard and opened it. It was a Build-A-Bear teddy bear dressed in a Chilton uniform and a book in its hand. "Oh my God, it's a teddy bear of me!" she laughed.

"There's a change of clothes for it in the box. A Yale sweatshirt and a skirt," Luke informed.

Lorelai also got a Build-A-Bear version of herself. It was wearing a power suit and had a coffee cup in its hand. "Aw Luke, it's adorable!" Lorelai cooed as she hugged her bear. "I love it, along with the other twenty million gifts you gave me. But this is the best."

"I guess great minds think alike," Rory said.

"What?" Luke asked.

"Open your gift and you'll see what we're talking about," Lorelai replied.

Luke unwrapped his gift and smiled at the familiar box. "A Build-A-Bear box," he laughed. "Man, I wonder what it could be." He opened the box and pulled out a bear in a flannel shirt, jeans, and a backwards baseball cap.

"Now isn't that adorable," Jess laughed. "Looks like you've got a teddy bear family going on."

* * *

"I've never seen so many gifts in my life," Luke sighed as he fell back onto the bed. 

"Well there's more," Lorelai said. She handed Luke a gift. "Merry Christmas Coffee Man."

Luke tore the wrapping paper off the box and opened it. He held up the pocket watch so he could admire it. As he stared at the watch, he recalled the story he had told Lorelai. When he was a child, his father had a pocket watch just like the one he had just received.

"Wow. It's…it's great. Thank you." Luke pressed the button at the top of the watch and it popped open. Inside was a picture of him and Lorelai at Liz's wedding and on the back was an engraving.

_To Luke-_

_So you'll always remember I'll love you for all time._

_Love, Lorelai_

She knelt on the bed and hugged him from behind. "One day _our _son is going to see you with this and he'll come up to you and say, 'Dad, where did you get that ?'," Lorelai said. "And then you'll tell him the story about how his father and mother met and fell in love. Just like you asked your father and he told you."

"The story behind my father's watch was that my mother gave it to him when she found out she was pregnant with me. Are you trying to tell me something?"

Lorelai hugged him tighter. "It was negative." She could feel him take a deep breath and let it out slowly. "This was just our first try."

"I know."

"Don't get discouraged. It's going to happen. You'll be a father one day and you're going to be wonderful. It's going to take time."

Luke looked at the pocket watch and smiled. "Yeah. Time."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet me at the Chuppah": Luke and Lorelai attended a 40/50s themed New Years Eve party hosted by the Life and Death Brigade. At the party, Luke discovers something about his family's past. Rory and Logan argue about Jess. After the blowout, Rory walks out on Logan and takes a cab back to Stars Hollow, where she makes a decision concerning Jess._**

**A/N: In the original version of this chapter, the ending was a little different. Hopefully, I made the right decision in choosing this one. Now, as for the Rory/Logan/Jess situation. I state now and for the record, I am a _Logan_ fan.**


	25. New Year, New Surprises

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 25**

Luke and Lorelai walked into the hall and thought they had just stepped out of a time machine. The brigade had gone all out. From the costumes the people were wearing to the band and decorations, everything looked it was taken right out of a history book. Luke and Lorelai dressed their part. Rory spotted them enter the hall and ran over with Logan trailing behind.

"You made it," Rory smiled.

"We said we'd be here didn't we?" Lorelai joked.

"I'm loving the uniform Luke," Logan complimented. "Much better than this all white monkey suit I was stuck in."

"This belonged to my grandfather," Luke said. "It's the only thing I had."

"You guys looked like you stepped off the set of _The Notebook_," Rory remarked.

"That's what we were shooting for," Lorelai joked. "So, whose ring do we kiss?"

"I'm guessing Don Juan over there," Luke joked, pointing to a man across the room with medals around his neck.

"Guys, stop it," Rory laughed. "This is a very sophisticated event."

"So no big stunt at the end?" Luke asked.

"You know about the stunt?" Logan asked.

"Lorelai made me read that exposé Rory wrote a million times."

"There's no stunt. This party is an ordinary New Years party set in the 1940s or 50s. I never did get the time period confirmation."

"It doesn't make much of a difference wardrobe wise. Well, I hope you two have fun tonight. As for me and Lorelai, the open bar is calling out to us."

"Ok, I'll see you guys later," Rory said. "Have fun."

"Oh, we will," Lorelai said as she hugged Luke's arm. "I'm taking this cool cat to the bar so we can have some real fun when we get home."

"Dirty," Luke smiled.

"Mm. Just you wait big daddy."

"Ok, I'm officially grossed out," Rory said.

"Ah jeez. We're going," Luke laughed. "Come on little lady. Let's get some drinks so you can take advantage of me." He put his arm around Lorelai and took her to the bar.

"Those two are something else," Logan laughed as he and Rory started to walk.

"I wouldn't change them for the world," Rory smiled. "If you had met Luke two years ago, you'd never hear him say anything remotely dirty. Or anything with more than one syllable."

"He's not all that chatty now."

"It's Luke. He cooks food, makes coffee, and loves my mom. There isn't much to talk about. But not Jess. Jess is quiet, but he's always got something to say."

"Why do our conversations always end up about Jess?"

"No they don't."

"Yes Rory, they do. It's like you've got Jess on the mind twenty-four hours a day."

"I do not."

"You're always with him. I see you and Jess is right there."

"He's not like you. He doesn't get along with a lot of people."

"Gee. With his bright personality, I wonder why people hate him."

"Stop it Logan."

"I know he's Luke's nephew and you feel you have an obligation to be nice to him, but _I_'m your boyfriend. You spend more time with him than you do with me."

"You're being jealous for no reason."

"Have you heard anything I've said? I don't want you spending time with him anymore."

"Who do you think you are? You can't tell me who I can and cannot spend time with!"

"It's either him or me."

"I don't believe you. How could you make me choose between you two? You know what? It doesn't matter." Rory briskly headed for the door.

Logan ran after her. "Rory. Rory! Where do you think you are going? Don't walk out on me!"

"You have no right to ask me to choose between you and my friend. No right Logan!"

"If you realized he was trying to pull one over you, I wouldn't have to."

"You've lost your mind."

"Oh come on. He's only nice to you or when you're around. And that Christmas gift."

"It was thoughtful. It was his grandmother's."

"You don't give a woman jewelry without a motive."

"And how many women have you given jewelry to?"

"Don't turn this around."

"No, you accuse Jess of foul play so I'll accuse you of it too. Before we started dating, it was a well known fact you weren't a one woman man. Why should I believe you've changed just because you said you did?"

"That's not fair."

"It's not fair that you're attacking me about Jess." They were at her car now. She unlocked the doors and got in.

"What are you doing?"

"What does it look like? I'm leaving."

"You can't leave."

"No. I can't deal with you. I _can_ leave and I will." With that, Rory whipped out of her parking space and drove off, leaving Logan by himself in more ways than one.

* * *

After wondering around the hall and frequent trips to the bar, Luke and Lorelai returned to their table. Everyone there were members of the Life and Death Brigade. Now they knew how Rory must have felt when she wrote her article. Despite their out of place feeling, they were enjoying themselves. "This is much better than the dance marathons back home," Lorelai joked. 

"If Taylor let us put up an open bar, I'd participate," Luke joked.

"I'll bring it up at the next town meeting."

"Hello Lucas," someone said.

Luke's blood ran cold at the sound of that voice. It was all too familiar. He slowly turned his head only to confirm his belief. Lorelai sensed something was wrong and turned around to see who was behind them. An older man stood behind them. There was something about him. Lorelai felt like she had seen or met him somewhere before.

"Do you know him?" Lorelai asked.

"Of course I do," Luke replied as he slowly rose from his seat. "He's my uncle. Lorelai, this is the Colonel, Philip Danes. He's my uncle."

"I'm surprised you're admitting that to other people," Philip said. "Do you know how it feels to find out your only nephew is engaged, but refuses to tell you?"

"I haven't seen you in sixteen years. After Dad died, you refused to have anything to do with me because I didn't want to go to college or join the military. What do you want Colonel?"

Philip laughed to himself. "Do you know where you are? Who these people are?"

"I know where I am and who these people are, but I'm wondering why you do."

"Why shouldn't I? I'm one of them. I am a member of the Life and Death Brigade. Your father should have been too, but he refused the offer. Throughout the four years he studied at Yale, the brigade wanted him to join, but he was too stubborn."

"I didn't know your father went to Yale," Lorelai remarked.

"I'm just as shocked as you are," Luke said. His father, a Yale man?

"William turned them down, but I didn't. I took up their offer. Just like your grandfather did," Philip said. "The original Luke Danes was part of the brigade and now we want his namesake."

"What?"

"My children should have carried on the tradition, but Marc went right into the military and Michelle went against me and attended Harvard. They want you Luke. You're a leader, a true Danes. Proud, headstrong, and respected. We can help you provide your family with everything your heart desires. Years ago, we wanted to help provide for you, give money to send you to the right schools, but William was a very proud man."

"My father was a smart man that was content with what he had and earned every penny in his pocket. I was happy with what my father provided me with and my children will be happy with what I provided them with. I don't belong here. Come on Lorelai, we're leaving."

* * *

Jess had just closed the diner and was wiping down the counters when he heard someone knocking on the door. He turned around to see Rory standing outside. He slowly made his way to the door and opened it. "That offer to run away still good?" she asked.

* * *

Luke and Lorelai lay half naked in their bed with ice cream, chocolate and caramel syrup, and whipped cream surrounding them. They couldn't keep their hands off each other since they got home. Then Luke got a wild idea of bringing dessert to the bedroom. Lorelai started to lick the whipped cream in Luke's beard. "You have the greatest ideas," she laughed. 

"We never would have done that if you didn't eat so grotesquely," he teased.

He reached to take his hat off, but Lorelai stopped him. "Leave it. It's sexy."

"My grandfather's military hat is sexy?"

"On you it is."

"This bed is really sticky."

"Good, that way I can keep you in it forever."

Luke flipped Lorelai onto her back and reached for the bottle of caramel syrup on the night stand as he kissed her. He pulled back to dribble the syrup over her breasts. "Mm. I love caramel," he teased as he licked the sticky substance off.

"Oh God Luke. You are amazing."

"It's the least I can do after what you did with the whipped cream and chocolate earlier."

"Who needs flavored condoms when you have whipped cream and chocolate syrup?" She pulled him up to her face and kissed him deeply as his hands began to wander again. Suddenly, she heard something downstairs. She pulled back and looked around. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what?" he asked.

"I heard something coming from downstairs."

"I didn't hear anything."

"Luke, I swear I heard something." There was another sound. "See! Tell me you didn't hear it."

"Ok, ok. I'll go check what it is."

Luke got out of bed, grabbed his baseball bat, and quietly headed downstairs. Lorelai put on her robe and followed him. As they walked into the foyer, the front door opened and two figures walked into the house.

"I'll just grab some clothes and then we can...ah!" Jess yelled when he spotted Luke's figure with a baseball bat.

"Jess?" Luke called as he slowly lowered the bat. He turned the light on to see the two figures were Jess and Rory. "What the hell are you doing sneaking around in the middle of the night?"

"Rory?" Lorelai called. "I thought you weren't coming home tonight."

"I uh...changed my mind," Rory replied.

"You said you were spending the night at the diner," Luke said to Jess.

"I came home to get some clothes," Jess said. "Speaking of clothes, why aren't you wearing any? Is that ice cream on your chest? And please tell me that's whipped cream on your chin."

Luke looked down and realized he was still shirtless. It wouldn't have matter much if it were a burglar breaking into the house he was confronting, but it was his nephew and future stepdaughter gawking at his state of undress. "It's…it's whipped cream," he stuttered.

Lorelai scooped some of the whipped cream off Luke's chin with her fingers and tasted it. "Yeah, it's whipped cream," she joked. Luke gave her a warning look. "Just making sure."

"And you're wearing costumes," Jess said, pointing to Luke's hat. "I'm blaming you in therapy."

Luke quickly snatched the hat off his head. "What are you guys doing home?" he asked.

"I told you. Getting clothes. We'll be out of your way in a minute," Jess replied. He walked past Luke and Lorelai and headed up to his room.

Rory stood in the foyer with Luke and Lorelai, but couldn't make eye contact with them. It was more than the fact that they had been caught doing something kinky. "Logan and I had a fight," Rory said, knowing Luke and Lorelai wanted to ask her about it. "We had a fight and I left him at the party. I'm pretty sure we broke up too. I really don't want to talk about it so I'm gonna get some stuff and Jess and I will spend the night at the diner." Rory went to her room.

It dawned on Luke and Rory passed him. He knew what had happened between her and Logan. Rather, _who_.

"I can't believe they broke up," Lorelai said suddenly.

"Don't act so heart broken," Luke bit.

"Whoa. What's with the hostility?"

"You know damn well you're happy about Rory and Logan breaking up. You didn't like Logan and you didn't try very hard to hide that either."

"That's a bold accusation Danes."

"Oh come on! It's the truth and you know it! Just admit it already. You hated Logan."

"I will not admit anything."

"Why didn't you like him? He treated her like a queen. He was good to her. He was better than Dean or Jess or that naked guy Marty ever were."

"Because he's not you! He has money. He comes from a high society family. My parents actually like him. He's a respectable part of society and he goes to Yale. He's exactly the kind of man my parents wanted me to end up with. I don't want Rory to end up with that kind of man." Lorelai suddenly realized who she sounded like. She sounded like her mother.

"I hope you're happy." Luke walked past Lorelai and went upstairs to change the sheets and take a quick shower before going to sleep.

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": After Richard invites Luke and Lorelai to a day at the club, Emily accuses her husband of having ulterior motives behind his bonding with Luke. Rory tells Jess she wants to start over with him. Lorelai worries when she hears a message left for Luke._**

**A/N: I was going to bring the Colonel in differently, but I cahnged my mind. I need angst and surprise with a dash of kinkiness. the original of this chapter was quite...graphic. Lol. I would have included the smut, but then the chapter would never have ended. But I think I did a decent job. What do you think?**


	26. Shop talk, Mr Spontaneous, and the messa...

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**A/N: There's a part toward the end with an answering machine message. Luke's parts will be in italics and Lorelai's will be in bold italics.**

**Chapter 26**

It was Friday night and Luke, Lorelai, and Rory attended the usual weekly dinner at the elder Gilmore house. Jess decided to stay home and take the night shift at the diner. Luke didn't object or even try to talk Jess into going to dinner with them. Now, Luke, Lorelai, and Rory were sitting at the dinner table with Richard and Emily, barely saying anything.

"How are things at the inn Lorelai?" Emily asked.

"They're good. It wasn't very busy during the holiday, but it was fair enough," Lorelai replied.

"Good, good. Is there anything new going on we should know about?"

Luke glanced up from his plate at Lorelai, then at Rory. "No," he replied. "Nothing important." Luke looked down at his plate when Rory looked at him.

"I'm not feeling very well," Rory said, putting down her napkin. "Do you have aspirin or something Grandpa?"

"I think so. Are you alright?" Richard asked.

"I'm fine. I just have a headache."

"Maybe you should go upstairs and lie down," Emily suggested. "I'll send Sara up with aspirin and some water in a few minutes."

"Ok. Thanks." Rory stood up and left the room.

"I hope she's alright."

"She'll be fine," Lorelai said.

"I'm sure she will be. Luke, Lorelai, I'd like you two to come to the club on Sunday afternoon. Is that alright?" Richard asked.

"Why do you want us to go to the club?" Lorelai asked.

"Because I would like to spend some time with my daughter and future son-in-law."

"You golf with Luke every week. That's not enough bonding for you?"

"I'd like to take him to the club for a fruitful outing, with no shop talk for once."

"Shop talk? What would you two have to talk about? He runs a diner and you're an insurance broker. Not much in common there Dad."

Richard was about to say something, but Luke spoke first. "If we go to the club Sunday, can we skip Friday night dinner?" Luke asked.

"I suppose that's a fair trade," Richard replied. "Emily?"

"If you come to the club, you may skip Friday night dinner next week," Emily sighed.

"Ok, can I talk to you in the other room for a minute?" Lorelai asked Luke. "We'll be right back." She pulled him out of his seat and started pushing him toward the door. "What are you doing?"

"Getting us out of Friday night dinner," Luke replied.

"I do not want to go to that stupid, prissy country club. The last time I was there, I was fifteen and I got yelled at for not using a coaster."

"You did not."

"I heard 'coaster' and 'why aren't you using one?'. I highly doubt I misinterpreted."

"It's one afternoon. It won't be so bad."

"Yeah, it'll be horrible."

"Wouldn't you rather spend an afternoon in a room where they'll refill your drink after you take a sip from it than being in that dining room with your mother who asks if your glass is glued to your hand?"

"You owe me one."

"Take it off your tab."

* * *

Richard looked up, feeling Emily's eyes on him. "What?" he asked. 

"I know what you're doing," Emily stated.

"I beg your pardon?"

"You've had a hidden agenda this whole time. God knows you wouldn't parade Luke around the club like you do if you didn't have a plan. You're trying to get the members of the club to like him. That way you can take him to go golfing whenever you please. You're not trying to spend time with him. You're trying to bestow creditability on him and mold him into someone you _can_ parade around the club. You're turning him into a man that you would have wanted our daughter to end up with. Tell me I'm wrong."

"Luke Danes is a good man, but he is never going to be the kind of man we wanted our daughter to end up with. I have accepted him and the fact that our daughter will not marry the kind of man we wanted her to.."

"But it's not going to stop you from trying to change him will it?"

Richard stared at his wife for a long while, but didn't say a word to her. He just lowered his head and went back to his meal.

* * *

Jess walked around the counter to answer the ringing phone. "Luke's," he answered. 

"Hey," Rory greeted.

"Hey. I thought you were having dinner with your grandparents."

"I am. I'm upstairs."

"Why?"

"I told them I had a headache. In reality, I kept getting these weird vibes from Luke and Mom."

"What kind of vibes?"

"Bad ones. I can feel the disappointment in their eyes."

"Do you think they know?"

"I think they know something's going on. They know I broke up with Logan. The weird thing is, I'm getting a worse vibe from Luke than Mom."

"It's because Logan was the only one he liked of your boyfriends."

"He liked you."

"Only because he has to. He never thought I was good enough for you. He tried to convince himself that I was, but it failed horribly thanks to me."

"Jess, let's start over."

"I don't want to hurt you again."

"You won't. I know you won't. I think I still might be in love with you. Do you still love me?"

"I've never stopped."

"Then let's start over. Last weekend was great. Please. Can we just give it a try?" Jess was silent. "Jess, say something."

"I have to get back to work."

"Are you going to give me an answer?"

"I'll think about it."

"Oh. Ok."

"I have a lot on my mind right now. I need to analyze this."

"_You_, Mr. Spontaneous, need to analyze a situation?"

"I can be logical from time to time. But I really need to go now. I'll talk to you when you guys get home."

"Ok. Bye."

"Bye."

Luke leaned against the wall as he absorbed what he had just heard. He didn't mean to eavesdrop. He was on his way to the bathroom when he heard Rory talking. When he heard Rory address Jess, he couldn't help but stop and listen. He wasn't exactly sure what Rory and Jess's conversation was about, but there was one thing that was for certain: She still loved him. Rory still loved Jess.

* * *

"They came!" Sookie yelled as she ran into the diner, waving something in her hand. "They came! They came!" 

"We heard you the first time," Jess said as he rolled his eyes at the overexcited woman.

"What came Sookie?" Lorelai asked.

"The wedding invitations," Sookie replied. "Jackson and I got ours this morning."

"Why did we send them invitations if they're part of the wedding party?" Luke asked.

"Because they wanted one," Lorelai replied.

"We could have just given them one."

"Yeah, but it means more if they get it in the mail."

"Yeah. Thirty-seven cents more."

"Quiet you. Rory, come look. The invitations came." Rory, Rachel, Babette, Patty, and Liz gathered around Lorelai and Sookie as they looked at the invitation.

_Richard and Emily Gilmore,  
__Elizabeth Danes,  
__and  
__Lorelai Leigh Gilmore_

_cordially invite you to join in celebrating as_

_Lucas Alexander Danes  
__and  
__Lorelai Victoria Gilmore_

_exchange vows and are wed  
__on Tuesday, February fourteenth  
__two thousand and six  
__at twelve o'clock noon  
__at the Dragon Fly Inn  
__Stars Hollow, Connecticut_

_A reception will be held at  
__Stars Hollow Town Square  
__at six o'clock in the evening_

"You guys put my name in it!" Rory smiled. "I feel so honored."

"It was Luke's idea," Lorelai remarked.

"I thought it was only right to include your name in there," Luke explained.

"Aw Luke, you big softy," Rory teased.

"You tell no one."

"Mum's the word." Luke smile and went back to work.

"Why didn't you just put 'The Gilmore and Danes families'?" Jess asked.

"Don't be such a pain just because _your_ name isn't in it," Liz teased.

"Don't be such a pain because your name _is_ in it."

"If it makes you feel better, your name is on the wedding party announcement," Lorelai said, showing Jess the announcement.

"Oh joy. The thing no one reads. I'll be over there jumping for joy."

"Well at least you're not bitter," Rachel joked.

"Ok, I'd love to stay and gawk at the invitation with you guys, but I have errands to run. Luke! I'm leaving!" Lorelai yelled.

Luke walked out of the kitchen. "I'll see you at home for dinner?" he asked.

"Duh. Say kiss."

"Kiss." Lorelai leaned over the counter and kissed Luke. With that done, she left the diner.

* * *

Lorelai could hear the phone ringing when she walked into the house. "Hold on! Hold on!" she yelled as she juggled with the bags and dry cleaning in her arms. "Don't hangup. I'm coming!" 

A second later, the answering machine picked up. _"You've reached Luke and Lorelai's. We can't come to the phone right now, so leave a message after the beep. **Do a bit**._ _No. **Do a bit! **Stop it. **Come on.** Lorelai, I am not doing a bit. Hey what does this green light mean? **It means the message is still recording. Oh! You did a bit!** Ah jeez. How do I make it..." _Beep.

Lorelai laughed at the message. It was just plain luck that Luke forgot to press the stop button. Lorelai's happy mood abruptly ended when she heard the voice of someone she knew all too well.

"_Hey Luke, it's Nicole. I'm just returning your message and letting you know I'd be happy to meet up with you. How about breakfast tomorrow at Silvano's around nine-ish? Just call me back and let me know. Ok. It was great hearing from you and I'll see you tomorrow."_

Lorelai's heart stopped. Suddenly, she couldn't breathe.

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Lorelai shows up at Luke and Nicole's meeting and a fight ensues between the engaged couple. Will they be able to overcome this obstacle? Or will the path to the chuppah lead to a dead end? Jess gives Rory his answer. Max asks Rachel where their relationship is headed._**

**A/N: To my fellow Rogan fans, all I ask of you is to _trust me_. It may not seem like it now, but I know where I'm going. For some reason, a friend of mine wanted me write in killing off Nicole. It was sick, sadistic, and I loved it. Unfortunately, I needed her to cause more angst. How do you like them apples! Lol. Again, I ask that you have faith in me. I know what I'm doing...most of the time.**


	27. The truth behind the madness

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 27**

The message played over and over in Lorelai's head as she headed to Silvano's. A part of her felt guilty about following Luke to his meeting, but another part of her wanted to strangle him. Nicole, Luke's ex-wife Nicole, had called and left a message for him. As if it weren't bad enough that the formally married couple was going to meet- secretly at that- for breakfast, Luke had initiated the meeting. _He_ wanted to see _her_. It wouldn't have bothered her as much if it were the other way around, but it wasn't. How could he? What could they possibly have to talk about?

* * *

"Are you sure about this?" Nicole asked. 

"I'm not going to lie to you Nicole. This is very difficult for me to do, so I would appreciate it if you wouldn't undermine me," Luke snapped.

"I'm not undermining you. I don't want to waste my time only to have you change your mind."

"Good because I don't want my time wasted either. I have a wedding to plan and sneaking around behind my fiancée's back to do something like this is very stressful."

"You didn't tell Lorelai?"

"Of course I didn't tell her! She's crazy enough without her knowing. She'd go completely berserk if she knew I was here."

"Ok, now I don't think I feel comfortable about this."

"You felt comfortable letting your lover leave his socks in my drawer when we were married. How is the sock man anyway?"

Nicole stared angrily at her ex-husband. "Let's just get this over with."

"That's exactly what I was thinking."

Nicole stared at the man across the table. He had changed so much since they were together. He was never one to openly express his feelings. He bottled up his emotions inside and only spoke in monosyllables. Now he was wearing his heart on his sleeve and using more than one word in a sentence. She tried their entire relationship to change him, but Lorelai was the one that did it.

Luke returned to his civility as they talked. They had been talking for about fifteen minutes when Lorelai walked into the restaurant and spotted them from the host's podium. Her heart broke at the sight. It was killing her to see them. She headed to the table. The whispers coming from the other people in the restaurant got Luke to turn around and see an angry Lorelai heading his way.

He slowly stood and prepared for the inevitable confrontation with his fiancé. "Lorelai," Luke said, trying to calm Lorelai down. "This isn't wh…"

Lorelai slapped Luke across the face before he could get the rest of his sentence out. The sound of the slap caused the other customers to stop and stare. Luke rubbed his cheek. He could feel the red hand mark forming on his face, burning his skin.

"How could you?" Lorelai yelled at him. He wouldn't even look at her. "We're supposed to get married in a month and here you are with your ex-wife! Here's a tip James Bond, if you're going to have a secret meeting, don't tell her to call _our_ house!"

"It's not what you think," Luke softly said.

"Oh, that's original. If you're going to cheat on me, be a man and admit it."

"I'm not cheating on you."

"You're not? Oh, I'm sorry. My mistake. What was I thinking? Your ex-wife just called to set up a meeting that _you_ wanted to have and didn't want _me_ to know about."

"Please stop being so sarcastic so I can explain this to you."

"Lorelai," Nicole called. "This is one big mis…"

"Was I talking to you?" Lorelai snapped. "I don't wanna hear from you. This is between _my_ fiancé and me. So stay outta this!" She turned back to Luke. "If you didn't want to get married Luke, that's all you had to say." She was near tears now. "You should have never proposed."

"I still want to get married Lorelai! God! Ju...ju...just let me explain!" Luke scratched his head as he tried to figure out how to say what he needed to. "You and Rory mean everything to me. I would never intentionally do anything to hurt either of you. You gotta believe me."

"Tell me why you're here."

He didn't respond. She shook her head as tears rolled down her cheek and took the engagement ring off her finger. "What are you doing? Lorelai, stop that. Don't do this. Don't…What are you…"

"If you aren't going to be man enough to tell me the truth, then I don't want this anymore." Lorelai threw the ring at Luke and headed for the door.

"Lorelai. Lorelai! Lorelai! Don't...don't walk out on me. Please don't walk out on me. Lorelai! Lorelai, please don't leave me!"

Her heart was breaking just hearing him. She couldn't take it anymore. Luke watched as the love of his life walked out of the door and possibly his life- forever. It registered in his mind that she was leaving him. Red flags were going up in his brain, but his legs didn't get the message until the doors closed and she was out of sight. He sprinted out the door just as Lorelai was speeding by in the Jeep. At first, he tried running after the car. A million questions ran through his head as he ran down the middle of the street. Would she understand if he caught up with her? Why didn't he just tell her the truth? Why did this have to be a secret? Was it worth losing her over?

Then it hit him. He lost her. He slowly came to a halt. What was he doing? He wasn't Butch Danes anymore. His body was no longer young. He was Luke the Diner Guy and his body was old and tired. It was funny. He woke up this morning feeling like he was twenty years younger, but now he felt like an eighty year old man awaiting death. Because that's what it felt like. He felt like he was dying. He just wanted to be prepared. How ironic.

* * *

Rory watched as Jess moved about the diner. She just wanted his answer. It wasn't a very hard question. It was yes or no. Simple as that. But then again, matters of the heart were never simple. She had learned that by experience. She never thought she would be asking Jess to start over. The day he showed up at Yale, she thought they were through for good. 

After finishing his round, Jess put the coffee pot away and stared at Rory. She spotted him looking at her and made her way over to the counter.

"So this is what it feels like," he laughed to himself.

"This is what feels like?" she asked.

"To be Luke."

"Put a flannel shirt and baseball cap on and you'll get the full effect." Jess sighed. She didn't get it. "Do you think we can go upstairs to talk?"

"I think that's a good idea. Hey Lane!"

"Yeah?" Lane asked as she popped her head out of the kitchen.

"I'm taking my ten."

"Ok."

Jess and Rory went upstairs. He sighed as he shut the door behind him. He played this moment over and over in his head for two days.

"So," Rory prompted.

"So what?" Jess asked.

"Do you have an answer?"

"I do."

"And it is…"

Jess stared at her for a while, then took a deep breath before uttering a single word, "No."

"What?"

"I said no. I don't want to start over. Not now…not ever."

"But…why? I thought you said you love me."

"I do. That's why I can't start over. You don't wanna be with me. You wanna be with Logan."

"No Jess, I want to be with you. I love you."

"You _loved_ me. Loved as in before but not anymore. You _love_ Logan. I know you do. I see it in your eyes."

"I don't get it Jess. Why are you doing this?"

"Closure. We never had closure. We'll both need it to move on."

"No, this is more than closure."

"I don't want to start something with you and hurt you in the end!"

"We're not even together and you're talking about breaking up with me?"

"No! I'm not talking about breaking up with you!"

"Ok, I really don't see how you can be getting mad at me right now."

"I'm mad because you're not hearing me."

"I just don't understand what you mean by you don't wanna hurt me. I know you're not talking about _physically _hurting me, but you're not talking about breaking up with me. It's like you're planning ahead to leave me or something."

"Just not in the way you think," he mumbled.

"What did you just say? Jess, what aren't you telling me?" He was silent again. "Jess."

"I can't start over with you because…because…"

"Because what Jess?"

"Because I have cancer."

* * *

Max looked up at Rachel. They had decided to take a break from their usual breakfast at Luke's and take a visit to the inn instead. They found it right to keep the businesses of the two benefactors of their relationship up and running. Besides, Max wanted to have a real heart to heart talk with Rachel and with Patty and Babette at the next table, their business would be all over town in ten seconds flat. 

"I'm surprised Lroelai isn't here," Rachel remarked. "She's been so busy with the wedding and all, she hasn't been to work a lot lately."

"Yeah, but Luke works all the time. It balances out. Sorta."

"Was this how it was when you were engaged to Lorelai? I mean, did she take a lot of time off to plan things out?"

"No. Actually, she worked more. If she wasn't at home with Rory or with me, she was at work. She planned the wedding in between everything. Did Luke work all the time when you dated?"

"Actually, he hid from me."

"What?"

"Toward the end of our relationship, he'd hide from me at Lorelai's house."

"Oh yeah. I remember meeting him for the first time because he left Bert at Lorelai's."

"Who?"

"His toolbox. Lorelai named it."

"I figured."

"Did you think things were going to end with Luke?"

"Yes. It was inevitable."

"How so?"

"He was in love with Lorelai. He wouldn't admit it, but he was. I couldn't compete with her and I'm glad I didn't. Did you know you and Lorelai were going to break up?"

"Not until she called off the wedding. That was pretty much all the closure I needed. Ever since that, I've been precautious about the women I date."

"Oh, of course. You don't wanna waste your time."

"Exactly." Rachel looked down at her plate, but Max never took his eyes off her. "What are we doing Rachel? Where's this relationship going?"

"I…I don't know."

"I'm not wasting my time am I?"

"I like to think not. Max, I want this relationship to go somewhere, but I haven't been in a real relationship since Luke. To be honest, he's a very hard man to get over. I didn't think I'd find a man like him until I met you. Can't we just wait and see where this goes?"

Max smiled. "You know, I was thinking the same thing."

Just then, Lorelai walked into the dining room from the kitchen. Rachel spotted her and called her over. "Lorelai." She noticed the heartbroken look on Lorelai's face. "Loreai, are you ok?"

"He was with her," Lorelai nearly sobbed.

"Who was with who?"

"Luke. He was with Nicole."

"Nicole? His ex-wife Nicole?"

"I don't know any other Nicoles. She called yesterday and left a message. He asked to see her."

"I don't believe it. What did he want to see her about?"

"He wouldn't tell me. I followed them to Silvano's and they were having breakfast together. When I asked him why he wanted to meet with her, he wouldn't tell me."

"Maybe he figured you'd get upset if he told you why he needed to meet with her," Max remarked. "Just because he's having breakfast with his first wife doesn't mean he's cheating on you. Maybe he knew you'd get jealous. And he was right. You're jealous, so hurrah for Luke."

Lorelai and Rachel stared at Max. He looked up and saw their faces. Perhaps he had said too much. "You know something," Lorelai accused.

"No. No. I know nothing."

"You know something," Rachel said. "Max, what do you know?"

Lorelai stared at Max. "You know why Luke called Nicole don't you?" she asked.

"Ok so he told me. I'm his friend and he needed advice. If I could, I'd tell you. But it's not my place," Max said.

"Lorelai," Michel called as he walked into the dining room. "May I have a word with you?"

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"I know you and Luke are having a fight, but I think you should give him a second chance."

"You don't even like Luke."

"Yes, but still. He may be a grumpy, annoying, barbaric lumberjack that can't put two words together to form a proper sentence, but he still loves you and you love him."

"He's here isn't he?"

"He's been following me around for half an hour. I can't take it. He's being pleasant to me. I want him to go away."

"Where is he?"

"In the waiting room."

Lorelai headed to the waiting room. Luke looked over his shoulder when he heard someone approaching. He sprang to his feet when he saw that it was Lorelai.

"Don't go. Please," Luke begged. "I just want to talk to you."

"Fine," Lorelai said. She noticed Luke's shirt was half in his pants and wrinkled. "What happened to your shirt?"

"I chased you for ten blocks while you drove away in the Jeep."

"What were you thinking?"

"What was I thinking? I was thinking I screwed up. I was thinking I should have told you from the beginning. I was thinking I was losing you. Then I realized I wasn't eighteen anymore and how ridiculous I looked. So I came here knowing you didn't have anywhere else to go. I knew you'd get mad. I knew you'd be upset if you knew what I was doing. I wanted to spare your feelings, but I should have told you. I mean, you were going to find out anyway. I called her and asked for her legal advice."

"Legal advice? Why would you need legal advice? You hate lawyers."

"I know I hate lawyers. I was golfing with your father one day and he started asking me all these questions about my future. He thought it would be a good idea to…plan ahead."

"We are planning ahead."

"Not in the way he suggested."

"What?"

"He wants me to be prepared."

"Prepared for what?"

"Anything and everything." Luke pulled something out of his back pocket. "I think this would explain things better than I can."

Lorelai took the paper from Luke and unfolded it. She gasped when she realized what it was. She continued to stare at the title on the top of the page. _Last Will and Testimony of Lucas A. Danes.

* * *

_

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah":_** **_Luke, Lorelai, Rory, and Jess attend a black tie affair- which is really a vow renewal for Richard and Emily- at the former Independence Inn property. Luke and Lorelai run into more people they'd rather not see. In an attempt to get Rory back, Logan ends up coming to blows with a party crashing Dean- who drags Jess into the fight. The whole ordeal ends in a disaster._**


	28. Attack of the Exs

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 28**

Lorelai looked around and admired the place that was once the Independence Inn. It had been nearly three years since the fire and the property had been sold and turned into a dining hall quite some time ago. This was the first time Lorelai, Luke, Rory, and Jess were seeing the property. Richard and Emily were renewing their wedding vows there. It was time for the first dance and Luke and Lorelai watched as her parents danced to 'Wedding Bell Blues'. When the emcee invited the guests to join the couple on the dance floor, Luke and Lorelai immediately walked onto the floor.

"This is such a fun song," Lorelai laughed as Luke twirled her around.

"It's a stupid song about some crazy girl with an insane crush on a guy named Bill," Luke said. "Bill was probably some pretty boy with a gambling addiction two timing his wife with women he met on a booze run. The woman is probably a love struck puppy stalking him."

"That's horrible. This song is not about a playboy and his playmate. It's a romantic song about a woman wanting to be with the man of her dreams."

"You have your version and I have mine."

"If Bill were only here."

"Ah jeez. I can't believe you like this song."

"Like I said, it's fun and sweet. I like it," she said as she spun out.

"Well, in that case…" He gently spun her back into his arms. "Just call me Bill."

A smile crept across her face. "Are you serious?"

"If your father can be Bill for your mother, then _I _will be _your_ Bill. Well, until the song ends."

"Thanks Bill."

"No problem." When the song ended, they walked off the dance floor and headed to their table. Luke suddenly froze. "I can't believe it. What's _he _doing here?"

"Who?" Lorelai asked.

"Him." Luke pointed to a man talking with Lorelai's cousin, Marilyn.

"He's Herb Smith's new business partner. Dad pointed him out to me earlier. Do you know him?"

"Yeah, I do. That's Nicole's father." When they turned around, they bumped into Floyd Stiles. "Oh, hello Floyd…Mr. Stiles," Luke stuttered, not too sure how to address the man.

"Hello Luke, Lorelai," Floyd greeted. "Lorelai, my best wishes on the engagement."

"Um. Thank you," Lorelai said.

"Luke, I'm glad I ran into you. There's someone I'd like you to meet." Before Luke could open his mouth to protest, they were at the table. "Hank."

Hank Leahy turned around and stood to greet his friend. "Well hello Floyd," he greeted.

"I'd like you to meet Richard's future son-in-law. Hank Leahy, this is Luke Danes."

Luke slowly looked up at his ex-father-in-law. Hank wasn't smiling. He extended his hand to the older man. "Hello Mr. Leahy," he greeted. He pulled his hand back and shoved it in his pocket when he realized Hank wasn't going to shake his hand.

"Hank, where's your wife?" _Mr. AND Mrs. Leahy? _Luke thought. _How could things get any worse?_

"She couldn't make it," Hank replied. "So I brought my _daughter_."_ That could be worse._

"Mr. Stiles, I've heard a lot about you," Nicole said, standing to shake Floyd's hand.

"Nothing but good word from your father I assume," Floyd said.

"No, actually, from your son."

"Hi Dad," Jason greeted as he returned to the table. He spotted Lorelai, then Luke. He knew he'd see her at the party, but with the diner guy? Richard and Emily must be living it! "Hello Lorelai."

"Digger," Lorelai spat.

"Who's your friend?"

"Jason, this is Luke Danes, Lorelai's fiancé," Floyd introduced. "Luke, this is my son…"

"Jason Stiles," Luke finished. "We've met. Unfortunately."

"I see. Well, Hank, why don't we get some drinks while these youngsters get reacquainted?"

"I suppose we can do that," Hank said hesitantly before he and Floyd left.

Lorelai slapped Luke's arm. "You know Floyd Stiles?" she asked in an annoyed tone.

"He's gone golfing with me and your dad. Stiles is a common last name. I don't think Leahy is."

"You act like I pay attention to anything my dad says. Look, let's just all be civil to entertain our parents. What's an hour out of our lives?"

"You're not serious."

"Tonight is about my parents. Whatever petty differences we have with Nicole and Digger are to be put aside tonight."

"Fine."

"I'd prefer to be called Jason, not Digger," Jason remarked.

"I'd like to call you a few things, but I'll hold my tongue." Lorelai shook her head. "I'm trying."

"Well, try harder," Lorelai said.

"Look here Jason, I don't like you and you don't like me. I will be civil with you tonight, but I suggest you don't piss me off."

"At least I know when someone's trying to manipulate me," Jason snapped.

"Excuse me?" Luke asked angrily.

"Do you honestly think the Gilmores would let their _only _daughter to marry a man like _you?"_

"Lorelai is a big girl. She can do whatever she wants and in two weeks, she'll be marrying me."

"You are so naïve. Look at yourself. You own a diner, drive a truck, and dress like a lumberjack. And yet, here you are, rubbing elbows with members of high society. Richard Gilmore is _allowing_ you to marry his daughter because he's turning you into a younger version of himself by taking you golfing, dressing you in expensive suits, and getting you to use big words. That way, he won't have to be embarrassed to call _you_ his son-in-law."

Luke clenched his fists until his knuckles were white. "I'd watch what I'd say if I were you."

"If I were you, I'd know my place."

"Luke, he's just trying to get a rise out of you," Lorelai said. "Just keep a cool head."

"You don't belong here Danes, so why don't you go where you do belong."

"Your girlfriend didn't seem to mind being with a diner owner when she married me."

"She's with me now isn't she?"

"Her standards sure have lowered. But then again, she'll probably get bored of you sooner or later. She tends to do that."

"Hey," Nicole yelled, jumping to her feet.

"I'm sorry. Did I offend you with the truth?"

"I tried to make it work between us."

"Oh and I guess sleeping with another man was going to fix our marriage?"

"What else was I supposed to do? I don't like being second in my _husband's_ life."

"Luke, stop it. You're going to cause a scene," Lorelai said.

"I don't care! I'm not going to stand here and pretend to be nice to this jackass and _her._ I'm going back to the table and in twenty minutes, I'm going to the car. Five more minutes and I'm going home. I don't care where you meet me, just meet me so we can get the hell away from them! Here's some advice _Digger_. Make sure you're wearing your own socks." With that, Luke turned and headed to his table.

"Maybe the reason Nicole started having an affair and left you was because you couldn't satisfy her like a real man," Jason yelled after Luke.

That caught Luke's attention, along with everyone else. He angrily made his way back to the table. He reared back to give Jason hell, but Lorelai intervened. She stepped in front of Luke and held him back. A physical fight had been avoided, but the shouting commenced.

* * *

"Does Luke know?" Rory asked as she sat with Jess on the bridge with their legs swinging back and forth over the edge. 

"Nope," Jess sighed.

"What about your parents?"

"If I didn't tell Luke, what makes you think I'd tell Liz and Jimmy?"

"I'm the only one that knows?"

"Different subject please."

"Fine, I'll just complain to you about not getting those plane tickets for Mom and Luke's honeymoon. Luke's going to hate it."

"Luke hates everything."

"This is a cruise we're talking about. He hates cruises. He's going to hate it."

"If it's coming from you, he'll love it." Jess took a deep breath and looked down at his hands. "Let's talk about Logan."

"Ok, I'm pulling the different subject card now."

"I think you should give him another chance."

"I'm the one that should be asking for another chance. To be realistic, I hurt him and I don't think I deserve one. He probably thinks that too."

"I think he wants you back. I also think he's been waiting for the right opportunity to ask you back." Rory eyed Jess suspiciously. "Hey, if you don't believe me. Just ask him." She turned around to see Logan standing at the end of the bridge. "I'll let you guys talk." Jess stood up and left. He said something to Logan as he passed by.

"Hi," Logan greeted as he slowly made his way toward Rory.

"Hi," Rory said. "What are you doing here?"

"My folks were invited to the shindig and they dragged me along."

"I meant here. On the bridge."

"I ran into Jess inside and he told me to meet you here."

"You talked to Jess?"

"Yeah and he told me everything."

"'Everything' everything?"

"'_Everything'_ everything. I miss you Ace. I can't eat, I can't sleep. Finn and Colin can't even get me to go out and party with them. I don't like being jealous. I don't want to be that idiot that lost the greatest thing to happen to me because of my stupid ego. I'm sorry Rory. Could you ever forgive me?"

"I'm the one that should be sorry. I knew I wanted to be with you, but I was scared. I was scared so I ran. Now I know I was just running from the greatest thing to happen to me."

"Does this mean we're back together?" Rory kissed Logan. "I guess that's a yes."

Rory pulled Logan in for another kiss. When she pulled back, she noticed they had company. Seeing the expression on Rory's face, Logan turned around to see Dean at the end of the bridge. "What are you doing here?" Logan asked as he got up.

"I work for the maintenance crew," Dean replied, walking closer to the couple. "Word around town is you two called it quits. I guess you didn't take my warning seriously."

"Warning? What warning?" Rory asked. "What did you do Dean?"

"Dean said Jess had a plan to take you away from me. That he _always_ had a plan and I needed to keep you from him before he took you from me. But do you know what I realized? I don't think it was Jess that had a plan all along. I think you were the one with the plan."

"What are you talking about?"

"You heard me. You're the one with the plan. You're the one trying to tear me and Rory apart. This whole time I was worried about Jess when I really should have been watching out for you."

"You think you're the man for her with your love 'em and leave 'em policy?"

"That was the old me, but I guess some things never change. Do they Dean?"

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"I know all about you. I heard you bailed out of your marriage before it started. You didn't even wait to get a divorce before you started sleeping with Rory. It sounds to me that you're not the kind of man for her."

"Watch what you say pretty boy."

"Or what?"

"Or else."

"I'm so scared. The jolly green giant's making threats."

"Let me ask you something Richie Rich. Did you pay Luke to get him to like you?"

"I didn't have to. I wasn't married and having an affair with my ex."

"You're really starting to get on my nerves."

"You've been on my nerves since the first day I saw you. You walked out on Rory at that party a year ago. You're not good enough for her. You never have been and you never will be. So keep on walking!"

Jess spotted Dean at the bridge with Logan and Rory. Knowing his real plan was about to turn sour, he ran toward the group. "What's going on over here?" Jess asked . He could feel the tension between the two men and saw the frightened expression on Rory's face. This couldn't be good. "Rory, is everything ok?"

"This doesn't concern you Jess."

"It has everything to do with Jess," Dean spat.

"What'd I do?" Jess asked.

"Nothing," Rory replied. "Jess, just go back inside." She tried to push Jess away from the fight as Dean and Logan started to yell at each other again. Before they knew it, Logan and Dean's shouting match had turned into a fist fight.

"Hey!" Jess yelled, moving Rory out of his way to head toward the fighting men. "Break it up! I said break it up!" Jess tried to pull them apart, but it wasn't working.

"Hey! What's going on down there?" Kirk yelled from up the hill. One of his many jobs in town was being an on-call security guard and he had been called to work the Gilmore party.

Rory was about to tell Kirk to get help when Dean shoved Jess into Rory, sending them both over the edge of the bridge and onto the frozen lake. Rory's scream brought Kirk running. Jess and Rory lay perfectly still on the ice. Jess was coming to and could hear Logan, Dean, and Kirk's muffled voices. Logan and Dean were calling out to Rory, but Kirk was telling them something about the ice. Jess tried to make it out, but he couldn't understand the words. He turned his head toward Rory. Her eyes were still closed and she wasn't moving. He slowly started to move to reach for her and that's when he heard it. There was a crackling noise coming from under him. He knew what Kirk was saying now. He was telling them it was thin ice.

"Rory," he called softly. "Rory, wake up. We need to get off the ice. Rory. Rory, please. Get up." He could hear the ice beginning to break under them. The crackling was quickening and he was beginning to panic. "Rory! Wake up!"

Rory slowly started to stir back into consciousness. "Huh?" she asked hazily. "What's going on?"

"We have to get off the ice."

"Why?"

"Because it's breaking! It's thin ice!" When she heard the crackling, her heart began to beat faster and she too began to panic. "Rory! We have to get off the ice right now!" It was too late. The ice under Rory gave in and with a horrifying scream she fell into the icy cold water. "Rory!"

* * *

"Luke, please, calm down," Lorelai begged. Lorelai knew this verbal sparring match between Luke and Jason would turn physical at anytime. 

"I'll calm down once I kill him," Luke growled.

"I'd like to see you try!" Jason shouted.

Luke and Jason struggled against their dates. They were about to get past them, when Kirk came running into the hall. "Luke! Lorelai! Where are they?" Kirk yelled as he frantically looked through the crowd.

"Kirk?" Luke called.

Kirk spotted the couple and rushed toward them. He bent over and tried to catch his breath. "Thank…God…I…found…you. You have to come…quick."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"Jess…Rory…thin…thin…"

"Thin what? And what about Jess and Rory?" Kirk continued to take deep breaths and tell Luke about the tragedy. Getting very frustrated, Luke grabbed Kirk by the collar and lifted him off the ground. "Kirk! What happened to Jess and Rory? Thin what?"

"Thin ice! Jess and Rory were on thin ice!"

"Were?" Lorelai asked. She grabbed Luke's arm. "Luke, something's wrong."

"Rory fell through the thin ice. Jess was trying to pull her out when I left to get help, but you should come right now."

Luke put Kirk down. "Where are they? Where are they?"

"The bridge. They're by the bridge."

"Kirk, go find Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore. Tell them to meet us at the bridge. Lorelai, come with me."

With that, Kirk went to find the Gilmores and Luke and Lorelai ran as fast as they could to the bridge, praying to God they weren't too late.

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": While waiting for news on Jess and Rory and under a lot of pressure, Luke blows up at everyone. Rory tells Lorelai what happened between her and Jess the night she ran to him. Jess tells Luke he has cancer and makes a plea with him._**


	29. Jess's Plea

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 29**

Luke, Lorelai, Richard, Emily, Logan, Dean, Liz, T.J. and Kirk were in the waiting room, waiting for word on Jess and Rory's conditions. For some unknown reason, Jason and Nicole had tagged along also. The fact that they were there was irritating Luke. The thing on everyone's mind was: what happened on that bridge? When Luke, Lorelai, the Gilmores, and Kirk got to the bridge, Logan and Dean were dragging Jess's frozen body off the ice. Soon, Sookie, Jackson, Max, Rachel, and Lane joined the group. The rest of the Stars Hollow residents waited anxiously for news in their homes.

Lorelai looked beside her where Luke sat hunched over with his face buried in his hands. He had been a wreck since he found out Jess had fallen through the ice too. She wanted to comfort him, but she wasn't sure what to say. Instead, she stood up and walked over to where Logan and Dean were standing. "Hey guys," she called. "I wanted to thank you for saving Rory and Jess tonight. If it weren't for you two, we'd probably be in the morgue instead of the waiting room."

"Ms. Gilmore, as much as I'd love to accept your praise, it was really our fault they were on the ice," Logan confessed.

"Yeah. We were fighting and when Jess tried to stop us, he got knocked into Rory and they went over the edge. He was the one that saved her. He pulled her out of the water. He asked us to help get her onto safe grounds. We pulled her up and then when we turned around, he fell…"

"Through the ice," Logan interrupted. "The ice gave in and he fell through. We got onto the ice and pulled him out before he was too far under. That's when you guys got there." Dean looked suspiciously at Logan.

Dean continued to stare at Logan. Why was Logan lying for Jess? Better yet, why was he lying for Jess? "Yeah," he replied. "That's what happened. Jess deserves all the credit."

"Oh, well thank you for your honesty," Lorelai said. She gave them a quick smile and headed back to her seat. She looked at Luke again and put her hand on his back. "Hey, you wanna talk?" There was no response from Luke. "Honey. Luke, are you…"

Luke suddenly jumped out of his seat and walked over to Richard. "You were trying to change me weren't you?" he asked.

Richard shifted in his chair. "Luke…" he started.

"Yes or no Richard. Were you trying to change me?"

He remained silent for a minute before answering. "Yes."

"Why? Did you wake up one morning and say to yourself, 'Gee, I've got nothing to do today. How about I mess with Luke Danes's entire way of life?'? Am I just some charity case? Or a bet with the guys down at the club? Pulling a male version if _She's All That_?"

"I thought I was doing you some good."

"Doing me some good? Look at me! I'm wearing a tux. I hate tuxes! I don't like to use big words. I think golf is a waste of time. And if I wanted to drink scotch or whiskey or brandy in the middle of the day, I'd belong to the AA. You even got me to write a will! I'm not you Richard, so stop trying to turn me into you!"

"Luke, I think you're misunderstanding Richard's reasoning," Emily remarked.

"Don't get me started on you. Everyone knows the only reason, you're nice to me is to get Lorelai to come to your stupid Friday night dinners, which is a pathetic way to force a relationship on your daughter and granddaughter! And the only thing I misunderstood is thinking you accepted me and Lorelai. If you didn't want me to marry her, all you had to do was say so!"

Luke turned around and faced Logan and Dean, focusing on Logan. "I don't care how much money you have or who your daddy is, don't mess with my girl or I will hunt you down like a rabid dog and kill you in the slowest, most painful way I can. And I'll do it with my bare hands." He turned to Dean. "And you. You're a married man and you're still meddling with your ex's relationships. Get a life! Pay attention to Lindsey instead of Rory. Every time Rory gets off her feet with a guy, you show up and screw it up. You screwed it up when _you_ were with her _three times!_ So the same goes for you pretty boy. You hurt Rory and before God, I will kill you."

"Luke, show a little decency and shut up," Liz said.

"You wanna talk about decency Liz? The _decent_ thing for you to have done four years ago with Jess was _handle it!_ If you tried to control your damn kid, you wouldn't have had to send him here! But no! Liz always has to take the easy way out, so you dumped the world's most out of control teen on me! Because, of course, big brother Luke would _never_ say no to anyone! Then you wouldn't even take him for two lousy weeks for Christmas." T.J. was about to defend his wife, but Luke turned to him and spoke first. "And you can't be an escrow you idiot! Look it up in the dictionary! Stupid, short, tights-loving loon."

Lorelai jumped out of her seat and ran over to Luke. "Ok, let's step outside and talk for a minute," she said, pushing Luke out of the waiting room.

He started to pace back and forth. "They're all crazy. Every last one of them!" he said. "The only normal ones in there were Lane and Kirk. You know it's bad when you can say _Kirk _is normal."

"Ok, just calm down. Take a deep breath and calm down."

"I can't calm down! The diner's always hectic. Taylor's on my case about some kid on a skateboard passing the ice cream shop. Michel is always bothering me. We're getting married in two weeks. Rory and Jess are in the hospital. It's all just…I can't handle all of this at once. I just want everything to go away."

"This is a stressful time for all of us, but you really need to keep a cool head. This whole 'losing it' bit really doesn't work for you. I need you to be Luke." He opened his mouth to speak, but she didn't let him. "I need you to be that backward baseball cap, flannel man that was good for a few monosyllable grunts. The one that would have told me, 'When I die, you get everything.' I need my Diner Guy. My Coffee Man. My Burger Boy."

"I'll pay you fifty dollars to stop calling me those names right now."

"I need _that _Luke. The old Luke."

"I get it."

"Good. Let's go back inside so you can apologize to everyone." Luke shook his head and followed Lorelai back into the waiting room. "Can I have your attention please? Luke has something to say to everyone."

They all turned their attention to Luke, but before he could say anything the doctor walked in.

"I'm looking for Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes," the doctor said.

"That's us," Luke said.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Bell. I've been attending to your daughter and nephew. They just got out of ER. There was no serious damage, just a few cuts and scraps. We had to pump water out of their lungs, but they'll be fine. They'll need to stay the night so we can keep an eye on them. Miss Gilmore would like to see her mother and Mr. Mariano asked for his uncle."

"That's us," Lorelai said to Luke.

The doctor brought Lorelai to Rory's room first. When she walked in, she froze. Seeing Rory lying there in a hospital bed with beeping monitors surrounding her did something to Lorelai. It made her feel weak. Although she knew everything was going to be ok, she couldn't help but feel scared for her daughter. It was a mother's curse. One Lorelai felt blessed and cursed with. Rory stirred a little and slowly opened her eyes.

"Hey kiddo," Lorelai smiled as she walked over to the bedside. "How you feeling?"

"Cold," Rory joked. "Mom, I have never been so scared in my life. The water was so cold. The minute it touched me, I panicked. I remember thinking, 'Oh my God. This is it. I'm going to die.' I really thought I was going to die." Rory tried to hide the fact she was crying, but it was no use.

Lorelai hugged Rory. "It's ok honey. You're ok. Everything's going to be fine now. Don't cry. Thanks to Jess…"

"Thanks to Jess? What do you mean 'thanks to Jess'?"

"Jess pulled you out of the water. He saved your life."

"Jess?"

"Yeah."

"Jess pulled me out."

"Yes."

"Jess pulled me out of the water and saved my life."

"Ok, the story isn't changing hon."

"What was he thinking?"

"He was thinking you were in trouble. I thought you would have been more grateful he did."

"I am grateful, but he really shouldn't have."

"Babe, if he didn't you'd be dead. If Logan or Dean stepped on the ice, it would have given in and you'd all be gone. I'm not sure what happened between you two on New Years that made everything all weird…"

"Nothing's weird!" Rory snapped. "Nothing is weird between me and Jess. Nothing's going on!"

"I'm just saying…"

"Well don't. Nothing happened between me and Jess. I asked him if we could run away that night because Logan and I had just broken up, but he said he had to be here. He had to be here for the wedding and more importantly, for Luke. We stayed up all night and talked. It was the most meaningful, wonderful talk I've ever had. So nothing happened ok? Nothing is ever going to happen between me and Jess."

Lorelai eyed her daughter suspiciously and wondered what she meant by her last statement. Instead of asking her about it, she decided to change the subject.

* * *

Luke walked into the hospital room and a shiver ran down his spine. He only had bad memories of hospitals. He looked at Jess and his heart broke. Jess looked so helpless. And pale. Something went off in Luke's mind. There shouldn't be this many machines. If he was going to be fine, then why all the charts and equipment? They weren't telling him something. 

"Jess," Luke called as he slowly made his way to the foot of the bed.

Jess lifted his head and looked up at Luke. "Hey," he said.

"How you feeling?"

"Like shit."

"Well, at least your sarcasm isn't damaged."

"I'm fine Luke."

"Good. So, they said you wanted to see me."

"Yeah. I did."

"What's up?"

"I need to tell you something, but you have to promise not to get mad."

Luke was confused by the tone of Jess's voice. It didn't sound like he had done something wrong. "I can promise to try not to get mad, but that's the best I can do."

"I don't know how to tell you this."

"This is bad isn't it? Does this have to do with Rory? Did you sleep with her? Is she pregnant?"

"Luke! I never touched her. It has nothing to do with Rory."

"Jess, whatever it is you can tell me. But I'm sure everything is gonna be fi…"

"I have cancer."

Luke froze. Did he hear Jess right? Did he say…no. It had to be a mistake. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah. I was in school and I started to get sick, so I had to miss a few classes and calling in sick for work. My grades slipped and it kept getting harder, so I dropped out. I went to a doctor and they said it was leukemia. I quit my job because I knew I wouldn't be able to handle it. Eventually I was evicted. I ran into Dave Rygalski when I was working at a bar and he let me stay at his place for a while. Then I heard about the wedding and here I am."

"How bad is it?"

"I'm not in a serious stage yet, but they got me taking this pill everyday instead of chemo."

"The chemo could really help. Maybe you should start."

"I don't have the money to take chemo treatments."

"If you're so sick, why did you come here? I would have flown out to see you."

"You're getting married Luke. I had to come. I needed to be here for you. You're not exactly the most popular guy in town. I figured I'd spend time with you and Liz before…"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence. I'll help you get the treatment. I'll pay for it."

"You can't afford it."

"I'll find a way."

"You're getting married. You have to support Lorelai, not me."

"I can't leave you hanging."

"You won't be. All I want from you is to go back to normal. Be yourself Luke. Don't be a Richard Gilmore carbon copy. It's not you and it doesn't fit you. Lorelai fell in love with the real Luke and she wants to spend the rest of her life with him. I can't get through this without you. Please. I'm begging you. Bring the old Luke back. Can you bring him back?" Luke said nothing. "You know, when things like this happen to you, you see the world in a different perspective. You see it for all its beauty. My life has never had so much meaning. I'm finally getting it straight. Someday I hope you get the chance to live like you were dying. Let that day be today. Live like you're dying Luke. Don't wait till you really are."

Luke stared at his hands for a while, then walked out of the room without saying a word to Jess.

* * *

Lorelai was waiting impatiently in the waiting room for Luke to return. He'd been in Jess's room for nearly half an hour. Liz and TJ had gone to see Jess five minutes ago. When she spotted Dr. Bell, she decided to ask about Luke. "Dr. Bell," she called. He stopped and faced her. "Hi. Luke's been with his nephew for quite a while now and I was wondering if everything was ok." 

"Everything's fine," Dr. Bell replied.

"What's taking Luke so long then? He's been in there for half an hour."

"Mr. Danes isn't in Mr. Mariano's room. He left the hospital over twenty minutes ago."

Lorelai panicked and ran into the waiting room. "Luke's gone," she stated. "I just talked to Dr. Bell and he said Luke left twenty minutes ago. I have to find him. I have to look for him." Lorelai looked down at her hands and realized she was shaking.

"Sweetie, calm down. We'll help you look for him. Come on, get your jacket."

Lorelai nodded and when she turned around, she bumped into Luke. "There you are!" she said, throwing her arms around his neck. "Where have you been?" She pulled back when she realized he was wearing his signature flannel shirt and backwards baseball cap. "When did you change?"

"After I saw Jess, I went home to change," Luke replied.

"Why?"

"Can we sit down?"

"Uh, sure."

He took her hand and brought them over to open seats. He turned in his seat so that he was still holding her hand and looking at her. He knew what he wanted to say, but getting it out was a different story. He leaned forward and gave her a soft, gentle kiss on the lips. "I love you. I don't think I say that enough. But I do. I do love you, with all my heart and soul. I would do anything for you and Rory. I would die so you two wouldn't feel an ounce of pain."

Lorelai felt her eyes beginning to water. "Luke, what's this all about?"

Just then, Liz and TJ walked back into the room. TJ was holding Liz as she cried. Jess told her. Luke faced Lorelai again and took a deep breath before whispering his answer. "Jess has cancer. I don't want there to be a minute- a second- when you have to stop and wonder if I love you."

"That'll never happen Luke. I know you do and I love you too."

Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai once more. "When I die, you get everything."

Lorelai chuckled to herself. "It's good to have you back."

Luke let go of Lorelai's hand and walked over to Richard and Emily. "Mr. Gilmore, Mrs. Gilmore," he called. "I wanted to apologize for my outburst earlier. With everything going on, I just lost it. I was disrespectful and I hope you can accept my apology."

"We should be the ones apologizing Luke," Richard said. "Our pride got in the way of our daughter's happiness. We're more than happy to have a self-made man marrying Lorelai."

"Like we said before, you have our blessing," Emily added. "And call us Richard and Emily."

"I think I'll stick to Mr. and Mrs. Gilmore if that's alright," Luke said. He took a deep breath and headed toward Logan. "I always liked you. Well, not the first time we met, but every other time I did. You're a good kid and you make Rory happy. That's good enough for me."

"Thank you sir. It means a lot to me that you're ok with me. Rory thinks very highly of you," Logan remarked.

"And I think highly of her. You take care of my girl you hear?"

"Yes sir."

"And quit calling me sir."

"Done and done."

Luke turned to Dean and sighed. "I just want Rory to be happy."

"I know," Dean said.

"She was happy with you."

"I know."

"But she's happier with Logan."

Dean bit his lip. "I know."

"You're a married man now. You've got a good thing going with Lindsey. Don't screw it up."

"I won't."

Luke extended his hand to Dean. "We square?"

"Yeah," Dean said, shaking Luke's hand. "We're square."

Luke let go of Dean's hand and walked over to Liz and TJ. "Liz," he called softly. His heart broke when he saw the tears running down his little sister's face.

"You were right," she said. "I'm a horrible mother and not I'm going to loose my little boy."

"Liz, I didn't mean that. You're not going to loose Jess. He's going to survive this. He's got the Danes stubbornness. He's going to live for many, many years. Hell, he'll probably outlive us all.. You made mistakes, but you're making up for them now. I'm just his uncle and I can only do so much. Jess needs you now. He needs you to be strong." Luke looked to TJ. "You're a good guy. The best brother-in-law I've ever had."

"Thanks, that means a lot man," TJ said.

"What about me?" Kirk asked, feeling left out of Luke's praises.

"Kirk, I owe you more than I've ever owed a man. You saved Rory and Jess tonight and for that I am eternally grateful. If you ever need anything, you let me know," Luke replied. "You're the best friend a guy could ask for."

"You mean it? I'm your best friend?"

"Yeah. I guess you are."

Kirk jumped out of his seat and gave Luke a big hug. "Aw thanks Luke. You're my best friend too. When I get married, I want you to be my best man. And don't worry, I don't mind that I'm not yours."

"Kirk…Kirk, let go of me."

"Oh. Sorry. I just get so emotional."

Luke shook his head and sat next to Lorelai, taking her hand again. He was suddenly overcome by a sense of calmness. He gave Lorelai's hand a squeeze. "Everything's going to be ok."

"Yeah," Lorelai smiled. She rested her head on his shoulder and looked down. "Everything is going to be perfect."

**_

* * *

Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Logan makes Jess an offer. Luke and Lorelai make a chastity agreement during the last week before their wedding. Lorelai's bachelorette party is interrupted. Lorelai and Rory are stranded in Hartford and spend the night at Richard and Emily's._**


	30. The Negotiator, the Bachelorette Party, ...

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 30**

Jess was in the apartment above the diner reading on his lunch break when there was a knock at the door. "It's open!" he yelled, not looking up from his book. He could hear someone walk in the apartment, but figured it was just Luke.

"Am I interrupting you?" someone asked.

Jess looked up to see Logan in the doorway. "Logan, what are you doing here?"

"I came by to see you." Logan started to take his gloves and scarf off. "So, how are you feeling?"

"I'm holding my own."

"And what did the doctors say?"

"They said I'd be fine as long as I didn't push it."

Logan took a seat at the table. "Luke tells me you're not going through chemotherapy."

"I'm on a pill that substitutes for it. The doctor said chemo's more effective, but I can't afford it."

"That's what I came to talk to you about. Jess, I'm going to pay for you to go through chemo."

"You're going to pay for my chemo?"

"Yes I am."

"Why?"

"I want to do something for a friend."

"For a friend? No strings attached?"

"No, I didn't say that."

"I knew it. What's the catch? Do I pay you back in installments for the rest of my life? Go to dinner at the Gilmores' every Friday?"

"I want you to work for me at my newspaper."

"What?"

"My father is giving me my first newspaper. Rory's still interning for my dad and I need someone to write for me. I was thinking maybe you could help me out."

"I'll also be working at the diner though."

"As long as I get your articles on time, it's all good. So, do we have a deal?" Logan extended his hand to Jess.

Jess shook Logan's hand. "Yeah. We've got a deal."

* * *

"He is evil," Lorelai stated, paying no attention to what her friends were saying. 

"Who's evil?" Sookie asked.

"Luke. He's the devil in flannel." The other women stared at Lorelai in bewilderment.

"They made a chastity agreement and she swears he's trying to make her to do something dirty," Rory explained.

"How long has it been since you made the agreement?" Rachel asked.

"Two hours," Lorelai replied.

"Two hours as in you broke the agreement two hours ago and just went back to it?" Liz asked.

"Two hours as in they decided to not have sex for a week two hours ago," Rory said.

"You can't survive two hours without being 'friendly' with Luke?" Lane asked.

"I just want to be his friend," Lorelai groaned.

"Mom, I beg you, seek help," Rory joked.

Just then, Luke and Colin walked over to the table with plates in hand. He'd reluctantly hired Logan's friends to help out in the diner. If he was going to allow Jess to run the diner while he was gone, he needed to hire some help. Logan offered his, Colin, and Finn's help. As it turned out, Colin's father owned a chain of restaurant and he had picked up a few things along the way.

"That's Rachel's, this one's Liz's, and the fruity looking one is Sookie's," Luke explained to Colin.

"Hey!" Sookie said. "It is not fruity!"

"It's decorative. It's fruity. Here you go Rory. And this is Lorelai's."

"Urgh!" Lorelai groaned.

"What?"

"You gave me strawberry pancakes with whipped cream."

"You like my strawberry pancakes with whipped cream. You're made up songs about my strawberry pancakes with whipped cream. You've made _dirty _songs."

"Exactly."

"Exactly what?"

"These pancakes are 'dirty' pancakes. Don't you remember what we do every Tuesday after I order the strawberry pancakes with whipped cream?"

"So you're saying my pancakes are dirty, sex pancakes?"

"These are."

"Ok, more than I want to know," Liz said.

"So you want to take these pancakes back and make you something totally different?"

"Yes. And I'd steer clear of waffles and all pies."

"What's wrong with pie?" Lorelai gave Luke a knowing look. "Ah jeez." He picked up her plate and he and Colin headed back to the counter. A few minutes later, Luke returned. "There."

"This is a Danish," Lorelai stated.

"Nice to know you're on the ball."

"But it's not Danish day."

"You wanted something else to eat and I made you something else to eat.Eat your Danish."

"You made me a Danish."

"Do you want the thing or not?"

"Thank you."

"You're welcome." Luke leaned down and gave Lorelai a kiss on the lips.

"Don't start something you can't finish."

"I'd never. By the way, I'll drop by the house before the bachelor party for my bag."

"What are you talking about?"

"Jess and I are staying here for the week. If we're gonna stick to the chastity agreement, one of us needs to leave the house."

"Are you applying I'd take advantage of you while you're sleeping?"

"It wouldn't be the first time." Lorelai stared at Luke with a shocked look. "It's not like we're not going to see each other everyday. My family's coming back to town soon, there's the rehearsal dinner, and you have to eat. Come on. Absence makes the heart grow fonder."

"I should shoot whoever came up with that stupid idea."

* * *

Lorelai, Rory, Emily, Sookie, Liz, Lulu, Rachel, Gypsy, Babette, Paris, Lane, and Patty sat in Lorelai's livingroom as they played bachelorette party games. They decided against going to a club to avoid any similar incidents to what happened at Lorelai's first bachelorette party. 

"I wonder what the guys are doing," Lulu said.

"They're probably hitting strip clubs in this and all the other surrounding counties," Liz joked.

"Add my buddies Finn and Colin into the mix and you've got the wildest bachelor party this town has ever seen," Rory laughed.

"I still can't believe Michel went with them," Babette remarked.

"How did you get him to go anyway?" Rachel asked.

"I told him they were going to clubs and we weren't," Sookie replied. "Luke's probably got him in a headlock right now. I should have given Jackson the camera."

"So Lorelai, how did you know Luke was _the one_?" Patty asked.

"I guess I always knew Luke was _the one_," Lorelai replied. She smiled and looked at Emily. "I try on my dress every night. That's how I'm positive. At night, when I know he's fast asleep, I put my dress, gloves, shoes, and tiara on. Then I got back to bed and when I look at him, I feel this overwhelming sense of love and security. I just know that if I married another man, I would never feel safe, secure, or complete. Only Luke can make me feel that way."

"That's so romantic," Lane cooed.

"I hope I find a man like that," Paris remarked.

"Check the Timberland stores," Lorelai joked. Just then, the phone began to ring. No one answered it because of their "no phones/beepers" rule, so the machine picked up.

"_Lorelai, it's Luke. You're not home so I'm guessing the girls took you out. When you get this can you come down to the police station? The bachelor party got a little out of hand and we, uh…we kinda…sorta…got...arrested. I can't believe I'm asking you this again, but can you bail me out?"_

Lorelai jumped out of her seat and picked up the phone. "Luke, you there?" she asked. "What happened? Obviously, but why? All of you were arrested? Even Dad? Apprehended? What does that mean? Ok, ok. We'll be there in ten minutes." Lorelai sighed as she put the phone down.

"What's going on?" Emily asked.

"Michel and Finn got into a fist fight over who has a funnier accent and ironically, Kirk is the one that ends up on his butt. All the guys jump in to stop the cat fight and then the sharif showed up and arrested everyone. They apprehended Dad because his blood-alcohol level was the only one under point eight, which wasn't fair because he's the designated driver."

"Sherif Becky arrested Luke?" Rory asked in surprise. "I wouldn't think she would after he helped rebuild her brother's kitchen after Buddy had another pyromaniac episode last year."

"Deputy Dan arrested them, Sherif Becky is working to get them out."

"That damn Deputy Dan," Sookie cursed.

"Deputy Dan? Sherif Becky?" Emily asked in confusion. "That's what you call your law enforcers?"

"Yeah, Mom, welcome to Stars Hollow," Lorelai teased. "They need us to go down to the station to post bail. Unfortunately, I'm going to have to put this bachelorette party on hiatus."

They all grabbed their bags and coats and headed out the door.

* * *

Lorelai couldn't wait to get back to Stars Hollow. She had to work early so she couldn't stop by the diner for lunch. Then there was the afternoon haul at the inn and at the diner, so neither of them could get away. After that, it was off to Hartford for Friday night dinner, which Luke couldn't attend because of a busy diner. 

"Mm, dinner was great," Lorelai said. "Can we go now?"

"Lorelai," Emily scolded. "Would you please stop rushing? We still have dessert to get through. Why is she in such a rush?"

"She hasn't seen Luke since yesterday at lunch," Rory replied.

"How could you miss the man? You live in the same house."

"Not now we're not. Luke and Jess are staying in his old apartment," Lorelai said.

"What?" Richard asked in shock. "Why? The wedding is in a few days. Did you two get in a fight? Is the wedding off? Lorelai, what did you do this time?"

"Whoa there! Back up. We're not in a fight and even if you were, shouldn't you be on _my _side?"

"Luke is a sensible man. It's more likely this was a result of something only you would do."

"Gee Dad, thanks for the support. But for your information, Luke and I have a chastity agreement and he's afraid I'll do something dirty to him while he's sleeping."

"It wouldn't be the first time," Rory teased.

"Why am I not surprised?" Richard joked.

"Dirty! From my dad!" Lorelai laughed.

"It seems we're not going to get to dessert, so you two may leave," Emily sighed.

"Really? Thanks Mom. Come on kid. Let's hit the road." Lorelai and Rory stood up, got their coats, and headed for the car. But when Lorelai tried to start the engine, it wouldn't start. "Oh no. Come on. Start. Start!"

"Mom," Rory called. "I think it's..."

"No. No, no. It's not…"

"It's dead."

"Urgh! Is the universe trying to keep me from Luke?"

"It knows about your evil plot to molest him. Let's go inside and see if we can get it fixed."

Lorelai sighed and followed Rory back into the house only to find out that all the local repair shops were closed for the night, meaning they'd have to spend the night there. Both girls retreated to their rooms. Lorelai called Luke and told him about her dilemma, informing him they wouldn't be seeing each other until she came home tomorrow afternoon- with her parents who plan to stay until the wedding.

* * *

It was nearly one in the morning when Rory was awakened by the sound of tapping on her window. She lifted her head to see Luke at her window. With a sigh, she sleepily dragged herself out of bed and opened her window. He looked embarrassed when he saw he had woken up Rory and forced a smile. "One window down," she simply said. 

"Thanks," he said. "Sorry about that. Uh, I'll see you tomorrow. I mean later. I mean…"

"Good night Luke."

"Night Rory."

* * *

Lorelai tossed and turned in her bed, desperately trying to fall asleep. It was useless. She couldn't stop thinking of Luke. She couldn't remember the last time they'd gone two days without seeing each other. Lorelai was about to drift off into sleep when she heard a tapping on the window. 

1"Lorelai," Luke called, his voice muffled by the glass. "Lorelai, open the window." He carefully mouthed the words and pointed to the lock to be sure she got his message.

Lorelai got out of the bed and quickly made her way to the window, unlocking it. "Luke, what are you doing out there?" she asked.

"Right now I'm freezing my butt off. Can I come in?" She moved aside so he could climb in. He smiled at the sight of her clad in his favorite shirt. "Nice shirt."

"Yeah. By the way, I borrowed your shirt. How did you get up here anyway?"

"I climbed up the vine. Then I realized I was on the wrong side of the house. I made my way around on the ledge and then I was at the wrong window."

"My parents?"

"Rory."

"I can't believe you did that. You don't have a Harley down there waiting for us do you?"

"Yeah, I have a Harley. I keep it behind the diner next to my Mustang."

"You're acting like a teenager."

"It would have been easier to climb two stories up the side of a house and around to the other side if I was twenty years younger."

"Why didn't you just ring the doorbell?"

"And face your mother? I'd take my chances with falling two stories than confronting her."

"Ok, what possessed you to risk your life?"

"I couldn't sleep. I had to see you."

"Aw, that's so sweet."

"Yeah, well, I couldn't go two days without seeing you."

"Great minds think alike. I couldn't sleep either."

Luke smiled at Lorelai and pulled her into a kiss. They walked over to the bed and he held her as they drifted off to sleep.

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Luke and lorelai's rehearsal not only brings the Danes family home, but it brings surprises along with it. A surprise guest. A surprise gift. A surprise performance. You might expect it and you might not. It's all one big surprise._**

**A/N: I dedicate "Sherif Becky" and "Deputy Dan" to my friends that came up with them. That part was for their weird entertainment. This story is coming to and end soon. I'm predicting 5 chapters- more or less.**


	31. A Night of Surprises

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**A/N: This is for later on- Richard in italics and Emily in bold.**

**Chapter 31**

Everyone in the wedding party met up for the wedding rehearsal at the Dragonfly Inn. Reverend Skinner went over the gist of what would happen and after a few run throughs, they met up with Luke's relatives, some of Lorelai's, and the rest of Stars Hollow at their home for dinner. It wasn't even the real wedding and there were so many people there. Each person had a story to tell about Luke and Lorelai and they shared those stories with anyone that would listen.

"Luke was great at everything he did," Patty remarked. "He was an excellent athlete, a great singer, a natural dancer, and above all, a fantastic cook. But there were two things he never could get the hang of: making friends and dating."

"Ah jeez," Luke groaned. "Patty, could we save this story for another time? Like my funeral?"

Lorelai playfully swatted Luke's arm. "Was he really _that_ bad at dating?" she asked.

"Sweetie, Luke could have dated any woman he wanted. He was just so wrapped up in his sports and work, he side stepped dating. But it didn't stop women from trying to get in his pants."

"It still doesn't," Luke joked, looking up at Carrie. Lorelai elbowed him in the side.

"I can't believe I'm about to marry one of the town's most wanted bachelors," Lorelai teased.

"Think of it this way, I could have dated any woman I wanted and over all them, I chose you."

"Ever since Lorelai was a little girl, she always had to have what she wanted," Emily said.

"She was a damn stubborn child," Richard teased. "But she always knew what she wanted and she wanted Luke."

"Did you ever think you'd end up together?" Dave asked.

"I think in our subconscious, we always knew," Lorelai smiled.

"If we didn't have to go through all that we have in the past nine years, I don't think we'd be here. We'd be in the diner fighting about her obsession with coffee."

"Or his freakish healthy eating habits."

"You guys are like complete opposites," Jackson remarked. "How do you stand each other?"

"May I?" Rory asked. Luke and Lorelai nodded, allowing her to answer. "It's a person's imperfections that make them perfect to another."

"She's gotta be right because she's a genius," Kirk joked.

"The town has been waiting a long time for this," Taylor remarked. "We've always known you two belonged together and we're all happy that you're getting married."

"Wow Taylor, thanks," Luke said. "Oh no. I just thanked Taylor. Quick, someone give me something to throw at him."

"Luke, you're being chi…" Taylor was interrupted when Luke threw a napkin at him, making everyone laugh.

They heard the door open, but no one turned. "I hope I'm not late," the person said.

Everyone turned around to see Mia standing in the archway. Lorelai jumped out of her seat and ran over to the woman that was like a mother to her to give her a hug. "Mia, I didn't know you were coming," Lorelai remarked.

"I wouldn't miss your wedding for anything in the world!" Mia smiled. She spotted Luke walking toward them. "Hello Lucas."

"Hi Mia," Luke greeted, hugging Mia. "I'm glad you could make it. We would have sent you an invitation, but…" Luke paused when he realized what he had said.

"That's right. You moved, so we couldn't send you an invitation," Lorelai said. "Then how'd you…"

"Let's just say a little birdie told me," Mia said. She looked toward Jess and winked at him. "Tell me, when did this relationship begin?"

"About a year and a half ago."

"And when did Lucas muster up the courage to propose?"

"This past October," Luke replied.

"And where is Rory?"

"I'm here," Rory replied. She walked over to Mia and gave her a hug. "Hi Mia."

"My you've grown up. You're in college now?"

"Yes ma'am. I'm in my third year of Yale."

"Yale? What happened to Harvard?"

"Yale had the better list." Rory looked over her shoulder at Logan. "And something else."

Richard and Emily watched as Lorelai and Luke gladly introduced and reacquainted Mia to their friends and family. There was no denying they felt jealous. Mia knew more about Lorelai than they did. They couldn't blame it on Lorelai for running away anymore. They just blamed themselves. They realized what they were feeling wasn't jealousy. It was guilt.

* * *

Lorelai snuggled closer to Luke as they sat on the porch bench while watching as their guests literally partied in the streets. With both of their families and the town in attendance, there was no way they would be able to put them in the house so they drew up a permit to shut down Maple Street for the night. Lorelai looked up at Luke, who was looking down at her, and smiled. She leaned up and placed a soft kiss on his lips which he happily returned. Their tender moment came to a halt when they heard someone clearing their throat. They pulled apart to see Mitchum Huntzberger standing a few feet away. 

"Mr. Huntzberger," Luke said in shock. "We weren't expecting you."

"What can we do for you?" Lorelai asked.

"I overheard Logan telling his sister that tonight was the rehearsal dinner and I wanted to stop by to offer the groom my congratulations and the bride best wishes," Mitchum replied. "And to give you this." He handed Luke an envelope.

"A wedding gift?" Luke asked.

"Something like that." Luke opened the envelope and pulled out a piece of paper. After reading it over, he looked at Mitchum, then at Lorelai.

"What is it?" Lorelai asked.

"It's a letter. From…," Luke paused before finishing his sentence. "My father."

"Your…what does it say?"

"Dear Luke: If you're reading this it means that you'll be getting married tomorrow. I know I wasn't the greatest father in the world, but I hope I've taught you something that will do you and others good in life. I've meet a young woman working at the Independence Inn recently. She's a strong, independent single mother. Her name is Lorelai Gilmore. If you should ever meet her, give her and her daughter the love and care they need. Give them a family. Son, I pray that the woman you meet at the alter tomorrow is Lorelai or at least a woman like her. That kind of woman needs you in their life. You need a woman like that in your life. Make her happy. You have a good heart son. I know you can. I only wish I could be there to see you get married. I may not have said or showed it very often, but I'm proud of you Lucas. I always have been. With love, your father, William Danes."

"By now you know that I knew your father," Mitchum said as Luke looked over the letter again. "He was a very proud man. A good man. You remind me a great deal of him. Your father left one more thing for me to give to you." Mitchum handed Luke one more envelope.

Luke opened it and pulled out a check. "Seventy-five thousand dollars?"

"Your father made an investment in one of my newspapers in your name and I recently sold it. All investors received a check and that is yours."

"Hey, I got one of those once," Lorelai remarked. "My dad invested in some building in my name. Then they built a freeway through it."

"Lovely story dear," Luke laughed. He turned to Mitchum again. "Thank you. Would you like to go inside and have something to eat? I think Mr. Gilmore is fixing up some drinks too."

"As tempting as that sounds, I think I'll take my leave." They said goodbye and Mitchum left.

Lorelai took her place under Luke's arm again and sighed. "Seventy-five thousand dollars," she said in awe. "That'll buy _a lot _of shoes."

Luke rolled his eyes and utter his famous catch-phrase, "Ah jeez."

* * *

Luke and Lorelai walked out onto the stage set up in the street and stood near the band, each with a microphone in hand. "Could we please have everyone's attention please?" Lorelai said. The crowd hushed and turned their attention to the couple. "Luke and I would just like to thank you for joining us tonight. Tomorrow is a big day for us and it means the world to us that everyone we care about will be there. To show our appreciation to you, Luke and I have taken it upon ourselves to give the people what they want. Everyone has been telling me how great Luke was at the engagement party and they'd love to hear him sing again. It took a lot of persuasion, but I got him to put on one more performance." 

"Under one condition," Luke said. "I'd only agree to sing if Lorelai sang with me. So tonight, for the first and probably last time, Lorelai and I will be singing a duet." The crowd cheered as the band began to play "From the Moment On" by Shania Twain and Bryan White.

"I didn't know your mom could sing," Logan remarked as he and Rory swayed to the music.

"It's one of her many hidden talents along with pilates," Rory joked.

"Do you sing too?"

"Oh God no. Me and singing are like Mom and cooking."

"Better left alone?"

"Only if you value your life."

_

* * *

_"They look happy," Emily remarked as she danced with her husband. 

"Who? Luke and Lorelai or Logan and Rory?" Richard asked.

"Both of them."

"Well, they are."

"Maybe we were wrong all this time. Maybe Luke and Lorelai _do_ belong together."

"They do. And we were."

"How are we ever going to let her go?"

"Lorelai or Rory?"

"Both."

"One day at a time. One day at a time." The second time Richard said it, it sounded as if he were trying to convince himself more than he was his wife.

_

* * *

_"Why aren't you dancing with your wife?" Jess asked Dean as he walked over to him. 

"She's not feeling well," Dean replied. "Why aren't you dancing?"

"I don't have anyone to dance _with_ and unless you're offering, I won't be dancing the rest of the night. Even then it'll look really funny."

Dean let out a chuckle. Then it became serious again. "I heard you have cancer."

"Gotta love Stars Hollow."

"How long have you had it?"

"They started detecting it a year ago."

"Do you think about…"

"Everyday, but I can't let it get to me. I have too much to do to worry about death being right around the corner."

"Hey man, I'm really sorry. I know we never really got along, but I'd never wish death on you." Jess raised an eyebrow at Dean. "Ok, maybe I have. But not this."

"I know. I made peace with Logan. I didn't want him to hate me because of Rory. I wanna ask you the same. You think we can be civil, if anything?"

"I think we can do that."

Jess and Dean shook hands and went back to watching the other guests dance. "Hey, does Lindsey have any sisters or cousins?"

* * *

Because Richard and Emily were in Stars Hollow, they had let their servants off while they were gone. They only came by once a day to check on the plants and make sure everything was in place in the Gilmore home. They were left specific orders to let the answering machine pick up when the phone rang. And that night, the phone did ring. 

"_Hello, you've reached Richard Gilmore._ **And Emily Gilmore. **_We're not home at the moment._ **Because we're in Stars Hollow. **_Because our daughter is getting married! _**So please leave a message. **_And we will return your call on Wednesday. _**When we get back from our daughter's wedding! _Bye!_**" Beep.

"Richard, Emily, it's Christopher."

* * *

**Editing Note: By request of FanFiction. Net, I removed the lyrics from this chapter.**

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": The day has finally arrived! Luke and Lorelai are finally getting married and all hell is about to break loose! You'll never see this one coming! Well, maybe you will._**


	32. PreWedding Feud

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 32**

Lorelai smiled as she awoke the next morning. She looked out the window. The sun was shining and snow covered the ground. It was perfect. She headed into the adjoined room where Rory slept. Lorelai and the other girls spent the night at the inn so they wouldn't have to rush there in the morning. It also gave the men the house to get ready in. Lorelai climbed into bed with her daughter, waking her. "Mom?" Rory asked sleepily.

"I'm getting married today," Lorelai smiled.

"I know. You getting married in...seven hours? Mom, it's five in the morning. Go back to bed."

"I can't! I'm getting married."

"In seven hours. God, I really need to get you committed."

"I am. To Luke."

"Go away."

"But…"

"Lorelai Gilmore, go to your bed right now." Lorelai got out of Rory's bed and headed back to her room. Rory rolled onto her back and looked up at Lorelai. "Hey Mom?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"You're getting married," she smiled.

"I know." Lorelai looked at her dress that hung nearby and smiled. She wondered what Luke was doing right now. Hopefully nothing dirty. She contemplated calling him, but he was probably still sleeping. Just then, her cell phone began to ring. Lorelai answered it when she heard Lane yell, 'Must kill noise!'. "Hello?"

"We're getting married today," Luke said, the smile evident in his voice.

"Finally, someone that understands me. I thought you'd be sleeping."

"I get up at four thirty everyday. Why should today be any different?"

"Good point. How'd you know I'd be awake?"

"I know you."

"Good point. What are you doing right now? Something dirty?"

"Thinking of you."

"And?"

"I'm not touching myself."

"Shut up Luke!" Lorelai could hear Jess yell. "We're trying to sleep!"

"I gotta go," Luke sighed.

"Ok, remember, he's your best man _and_ your nephew," Lorelai joked.

"Mom! Don't make me take your phone!" Rory yelled.

"Remember, she's your maid of honor _and _your daughter," Luke teased.

They both said goodbye and hung up. Lorelai put her robe on and decided to go for a walk. As she headed to the parking lot, she noticed there was something off about her Jeep. As she got closer, she realized what it was. The air had been let out of the tires. Then she noticed a piece of paper under the windshield wiper with her name on it. She opened it and it read:

_Don't get any ideas. I made sure you can't go anywhere. Meet me at the chuppah._

_Love, Luke._

Lorelai laughed at Luke's practical joke. She didn't dare think of leaving him. But it was funny. And after the wedding, he was going to refill those tires.

* * *

Luke sat in the inn's waiting room, anxiously waiting for the wedding to begin. He was a little nervous, but not too nervous. After shifting around in his seat relentlessly, he got tired of sitting around and decided to walk around. As he entered the foyer, a man walked in. He looked oddly familiar. Perhaps he was another of Lorelai's relatives. "Hi," Luke greeted. "Can I help you with something sir?" 

"Yeah, I'm looking for Lorelai Gilmore," the man replied.

"She's getting ready right now. Would you like me to send a message to her?"

"I'd sorta like to talk to her myself."

"Oh. Of course. Are you a relative?"

"Not really."

"Ok. I'm sorry, you look familiar. Have we met before?"

"I don't think so."

"Well I'm Luke Danes."

"That's right. The diner guy."

"Uh, ok. Yeah. I'm Luke from Luke's Diner."

"Lorelai invited you to the wedding?"

"She didn't have to. I'm the groom."

"You're marrying Lorelai? I don't believe this."

Luke immediately became angry. Who was this jerk? "Excuse me? Who the hell are you?"

"Rory's father, Christopher Hayden."

* * *

Rory broke away from the group helping Lorelai with her hair, makeup, and dress to see who was knocking at the door. When she opened it, she found a very concerned looking Michel. 

"Rory, good. Where is Lorelai?" he asked.

"She's in the other room getting ready. Why?" Rory asked concerned.

"You need to with me quickly. There is a _big _problem."

"Is everything ok? Is Luke ok?"

"For now."

"What do you mean 'for now'?"

"I do not have time to explain! You must come with me right now."

"Ok, ok. I'm coming."

Rory followed Michel. She gasped when she saw Jackson, Max, Jess, Logan, and Dean holding back a very furious Luke. She wondered what could have gotten him so angry, then she saw Finn, Colin, and Dave holding back none other than her own father. Kirk stood in the middle, trying to play mediator. If Luke was let loose, Kirk had better jump out of the way if he valued his life because there was no controlling him when he was like this.

"How dare you!" Luke yelled. "How dare you come here on my wedding day!"

"Lorelai belongs with me!" Christopher yelled.

Luke let out an animalistic growl and struggled against the five men holding him back. They were practically jumping on his back and he still surprisingly moved a few steps forward. Everyone- even the men not holding him back- started to yell at Luke to calm down. Then, out of no where, Richard showed up.

"What is going on here?" he barked. His voice boomed throughout the foyer with great authority. "Christopher, what are you doing here?"

"Hopefully, stopping Lorelai from making the biggest mistake of her life," Christopher replied. Another growl and a few steps from Luke. He was getting dangerously close. "Richard, I know I made mistakes in the past, but I've changed. I'm better now. I want to be with Lorelai."

No one- not Rory or Luke or Christopher- ever thought Richard would do what he did next. He grabbed Christopher by the collar, shaking him like he had Strobe the night Rory met her paternal grandparents.

"You listen to me Christopher Hayden," Richard growled. "You will not ruin my daughter's wedding day! Do you hear me? Today is supposed to be the greatest day of her life and, so help me God, no one is going to ruin it for her. No one!"

Once they pried Richard off the smaller man, Christopher staggered back and stared at the men in tuxes. Jess, Logan, Dean, Max, and Jackson continued to hold back Luke as Finn, Colin, Dave, Richard and Kirk stood behind him. Showing their loyalty and readiness to jump into action if needed. Michel joined the men.

"Pray to God they do not let him go," Michel said. "I have seen him angry. He is like an animal and if he was to get blood on his tuxedo, it would not be ready in time for the wedding." When Michel starts defending you, you know it's serious.

"Michel's right," Rory chimed in, finally making her presence known. "Dad, you need to leave."

"Rory, don't get in the middle of this," Christopher said.

"I've been in the middle of this Dad. I always have been."

"I need to talk to your mother."

"Stay away from her."

"Rory..."

"You had your chance Dad and you blew it. You blew it time after time after time. Face it. It's over between you and Mom. She getting married to Luke tonight and there's nothing you can do about it."

"Your mother and I belong together. We can be a family."

"You do not belong with my mother!" Rory yelled, shocking everyone , even herself. "Mom and _Luke_ belong together. And I already have a family. _He _is my family." She pointed at Luke as she spoke. "He does leave. He doesn't run. He's there. He's always there. He's been there when you should have. He's the family me and Mom need so just…just go away. I love you but you need to leave and don't bother Mom and Luke ever again."

"But Rory…"

"If you don't leave, I'll tell them to let him go. I swear to God Dad, I'll set him loose. Michel wasn't lying about him being an animal and shedding blood. He'll do it and there isn't a lawyer judge in this county that would convict him."

Christopher nodded and headed to the door. He took one last look before walking out the door. The five men had let Luke go and he was hugging Rory now. Luke kissed the top of his step-daughter's head and he started to laugh as she told him a story. Christopher finally realized that he had no place in that picture perfect family Rory always had in mind. He would always be her father, but Luke was the daddy in her family. It was his fault. If had just been there. If he had just tried harder. If he was just Luke…

* * *

"Lorelai," Emily called as she walked into the room. It was just about time for the wedding to start and Emily wanted to check on her daughter one more time. 

"I'm over here Mom," Lorelai said. She was staring at herself in the mirror with a weird expression on her face.

"Why are you making faces?"

"I'm missing something."

"What?"

"I'm missing something. I'm looking at myself in the mirror and I'm missing something. I just can't figure out what it is."

"Let's go down the list. Do you have something borrowed?"

"Yes. Patty's hair pin."

"Something blue?"

"My garter that I made from one of Luke's old flannel shirts."

"Something new?"

"The dress, tiara, and shoes."

"Something old?"

"Something old. That's it! I don't have something old. Oh my God. I don't have something old!"

"Lorelai, calm down."

"I can't calm down! I'm getting married in less than ten minutes and I don't have some thing old. I need something old!"

"Perhaps this will do." Emily opened her bag and pulled out a box. She opened it to reveal a very elegant gold necklace to her daughter.

"Oh my God. Mom. That's beautiful."

"It belonged to my mother. She wore it on her wedding day and I wore it when I married your father. I think you should wear it today."

"Oh wow. Thank you." Lorelai lifted the necklace and was about to put it on, but turned to Emily. "Could you put it on me?"

"Of course." Emily helped her daughter with put the necklace on. She smiled as her daughter admired it in the mirror. "You look perfect."

"Thank you Mom."

"Lorelai, I just want you to know that everything I did for you, I did it because I wanted what was best for you."

"I know Mom."

"I just wanted you to be happy."

"I know Mom."

"You're my daughter and it was my job as your mother to give you a good life."

"I know Mom."

"I wasn't trying to control you."

"I know Mom."

"I love you Lorelai."

"I know Mom." They were silent for a while. "Mom?"

"Yes Lorelai?"

"I love you too." Emily smiled. Just then, Rory walked into the room.

"Hey I was just checking to see if you were ready," Rory said. "Wow Mom. You look gorgeous."

"I hope Luke thinks so," Lorelai laughed.

"If he doesn't, you're marrying a gay man."

"I could tell you all the reasons he's not gay, but I don't want to scare you."

"Ok, I walked into that one."

Rory stood beside her grandmother and behind her mother. It was a sight to see. Three generations of Gilmore girls staring into that mirror as if would mold into a picture they could frame and put on the mantle. Today, Emily would get to see her daughter as happy as she always wanted her to be. Rory would be gain the greatest father figure she could ever ask for. And Lorelai was about to begin the rest of her life with the man of her dreams. Today, their dreams would come true.

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": It's time for the long awaited Luke and Lorelai wedding chapter! Yay! Well, it's a wedding. What more could I say?_**

**A/N: Ok, I originally had a big fight scene between Luke and Christopher, but then I realized Luke would end up with cuts and bruises at his wedding so I cut that out. Then I thought, "Hey! Have him object to the marriage!" Then I was like. No. The wedding has to be _perfect._ So, there you go. Just to let you know, the story doesn't end after the wedding.**

**Song Credit: I realized I forgot this in the last chapter (better late than never) "From this Moment" by Shania Twain (version feat. Bryan White)**


	33. Greatest Story Ever Told

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 33**

Luke stood at the alter with Jess at his side as everyone took their seats and the band began to play. Patty stood on stage with a microphone and began to sing Norah Jones's veriosn of "Love Me Tender" as the procession began.

The flower girl and ring bearer reached the end of the aisle and went to their places. Following them were Liz and TJ, then Kirk and Lane. 

"You nervous?" Jess whispered to his uncle.

"No," Luke replied.

Sookie was almost in tears when she and Jackson made it to the aisle. Luke chuckled to himself. Liz, Lane, and Kirk had also made it down the aisle almost crying.

"What about now?" Jess asked.

"Not yet," Luke replied.

Michel had been given the honor of walking Emily down the aisle. Luke smiled as he watched Rory head toward the alter. He remembered joking with Lorelai about making her a flower girl instead of the maid of honor. That idea was shot down. The crowd stood as a silver sleigh carrying Lorelai in it approached the end of the aisle. Richard helped his daughter out of the sleigh and hooked her arm with his.

Luke's breath caught in his chest the second he saw Lorelai. She looked like a snow angel wearing all white as she walked on the white snow. Her blue eyes illuminates, giving her an extra glow. Luke slightly leaned back toward Jess. "Now," he said.

"Now what?" Jess asked.

"Now I'm nervous."

Lorelai's eyes never left Luke's her entire walk down the aisle. Richard knew she wouldn't look away from her future husband, but spoke anyway.

"Lorelai, do you remember when you were ten years old and caught that terrible cold?" he asked.

"Sorta. I remember not being able to sleep for a week," Lorelai replied.

"Then you wouldn't remember that I stayed home for a week, tending to you. You were only calm when I sat at your bedside. Then one day, I decided to read you a book. For the first night in a week, you had fallen asleep. Before you drifted off, you looked up at me and said, 'I love you Daddy'. You fell asleep before I could tell you I loved you."

Richard faced his daughter as they reached the chuppah. "We barely ever see eye to eye. We don't talk very often. And we don't always get along. But if I could take that one special moment we shared and turn it into a million more, I would. You have a successful business, a beautiful home, and raised a very special girl. There is nothing I am more proud of in this world than you. You are my daughter and I love you," he said.

Lorelai hugged her father tightly. "I love you too Daddy," she whispered in his ear.

They pulled apart as Luke approached them. Richard kissed Lorelai's hand before placing it in Luke's. He ushered Lorelai to their place underneath the chuppah as Richard took his seat beside Emily. The ceremony began. They went through the ceremony as they did in rehearsals. Before they knew it, it was time to recite their vows.

"Do you, Lucas Alexander Danes, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife? To have and to hold, for better or worse, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, til death do you part?" Reverend Skinner asked.

"I do," Luke said.

"And do you, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband? To have and to hold, for better or worse, in good times and bad, in sickness and health, til death do you part?"

"I do," Lorelai said.

"The rings please." Reverend Skinner got the rings from Jess and Rory. He handed Lorelai's to Luke. "Let these rings serve as a reminder of your everlasting love for each other. Luke, repeat after me. I, Lucas Alexander Danes."

"I, Lucas Alexander Danes," Luke repeated.

"Do solemnly swear to love, honor, and cherish you."

"Do solemnly swear to love, honor, and cherish you."

"For all the days of my life."

"For all the days of my life."

"Lorelai, repeat after me. I, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore."

"I, Lorelai Victoria Gilmore."

"Do solemnly swear to love, honor, and cherish you."

"Do solemnly swear to love, honor, and cherish you."

"For all the days of my life."

"For all the days of my life."

"By the power vested in me and by the state of Connecticut, I now pronounce you man and wife. You may kiss the bride." Luke had been waiting all day to hear those five words. He gently pulled her closer to him and kissed her deeply. The crowd was cheering and applauding, but to Luke and Lorelai, they were the only two people in the word. They pulled apart and smiled at each other. They continued to hold each other as Reverend Skinner spoke again. "Ladies and gentlemen, I present to you, Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes!"

* * *

After taking pictures, Luke, Lorelai, and the rest fo the wedding party left the inn at nearly four o'clock. Of course, Luke complained about spending two and a half hours just to take pictures. The final two hours before the reception were spent in the sleighs the bride's maids and groom's men, Richard and Emily, and Luke and Lorelai would arrive at the reception in. It was a little touch Lorelai insisted on for a fair tale feel- more Disney, less Romanovs. 

"Ladies and gentlemen," Logan- who was acting as emcee for the moment- said as Luke and Lorelai's sleigh arrived. "I would like to introduce you, for the first time, Mr. and Mrs. Luke Danes." The crowd applauded as Luke and Lorelai got out of the sleigh and walked onto the dance floor. "The couple will now share their first dance as husband and wife."

Luke took Lorelai by the hand and pulled her close as "Greatest Story Every Told" by Oliver James began to play.

"You look beautiful tonight," Luke said to his wife. "Like an angel."

"You don't look so bad yourself," Lorelai teased.

"Have I told you how much I love you tonight?"

"You're stealing lines from the song."

"And I mean every word of it."

_

* * *

_"Luke and Lorelai would now like to invite all those who are in love to join them on the dance floor," Logan said. He put down the microphone and made his way over to Rory. "May I?" 

Rory turned to Jess. "Are you gonna be ok by yourself?" she asked.

"I'm a big boy, I can take care of myself. You two crazy kids go have a good time," Jess joked.

"Come on Ace, let's shake a leg," Logan said as he led them out to the dance floor.

_

* * *

_"Hey, where'd you learn to move like that," Rory teased Luke as she and Logan danced beside the newly weds. 

"Like I told your mother," Luke said. "It's a God given talent."

"You've got quite a good dancer there yourself kiddo," Lorelai joked. "He's not spazzy as Luke…"

"I do not dance spazzy."

"That was a little…" Logan started, but stopped when Rory stepped on is foot. "Ow."

"She gets her spaz from you," Luke teased Lorelai.

* * *

"Oh Richard, look how happy they are," Emily cooed as she and Richard danced and watched Luke and Lorelai. "We always wanted her to be this happy. Who would have thought it would be with a man like Luke?" 

"She did," Richard replied. "She always did."

"Do you think they'll make it?"

"Oh, I'm positive they will."

* * *

Rory took her glass and stood. She tapped on it until she had everyone's attention. "Good evening everyone," she greeted with a smile. "I'm Rory Gilmore, but you all know that. My mom has always been there for me when I need her to be and even when I don't want her to be. No matter what she has going on in her life, she stops just to be at my side. She would do anything for me and I would do anything for her. She even went to her parents to ask for money to send me to Chilton. If you know what the relationship between my mom and grandparents was like, you'd understand how hard it would be for her to do that. It just goes to show how much she cares. There are people that would kill to have the kind of relationship Mom and I have. I love this crazy, coffee-addicted woman. She is my mother and my best friend. 

"And what can I say about Luke? Well, for one thing, he makes the best coffee in the world." The crowd laughed. "Luke is the kind of man that will do something for you whether you ask him to or not. He's the kind of man that will be there for you when you need him. He's the kind of guy that helps a single mother take care of her kid and love that kid like she was his daughter. Luke is the best father I could have asked for. He didn't have to be, but he was." Rory wiped away the tears in her eyes. "So, here's to my mother and my step-father. I love you guys."

Everyone raised their glasses to join the toast. Once Rory took her seat, Jess stood. "My name is Jess Mariano and I'm Luke's best man," he said. "When I first came to Stars Hollow, I didn't want to be here. I was being shipped off to live with my uncle who I hadn't seen in years. I hated being here and I'm sure I was just as much of a pain to Luke. But he still took me in. He did what he could despite the fact that I kept screwing up. There are only two people in my life that never gave up on me and Luke is one of them. Like Rory said, he didn't have to do what he did. He didn't have to take me in. He didn't have to believe in me. But he did. Luke is the greatest guy I know. He's spent his entire life taking care of other people when he didn't have to. I can't say much about Lorelai. She didn't like me at first and I don't blame her. She loves and respects my uncle more than anyone ever has or ever could." He turned to Lorelai. "I'm sorry for being such a punk to you. I'm sorry for never really trying to get along with you, even when I was with Rory. I know you'll make Luke happy. You're all he ever wanted and all I ever wanted was for Luke to be happy. Take care of him ok? He's a real special guy." Lorelai nodded her head and Jess raised his glass. "I could wish you luck, but would good would that do? You guys already found each other and you don't get luckier than that. So here's to my uncle Luke and new step-aunt Lorelai." Again, everyone joined in the toast.

* * *

"At this time, the father of the bride requests a special dance with his daughter," Logan said. "So please clear the dance floor." 

Richard graciously offered his hand to his daughter. She gladly took it as John Mayer's "Daughters.

"I'm sorry," Richard said suddenly.

"For what Dad?" Lorelai asked.

"For not being around as often as I should have. For not being the father I should have been."

"You had to work and provide for me and Mom. You may not have been around that much, but at least you were there when it counted the most. I mean, Christopher wasn't around when Rory was growing up, but luckily Luke was. I'm very lucky I had you. You were a great father. And I'm not just saying that."

Richard smiled at Lorelai and placed a kiss on the top of her head. "I love you Lorelai."

"I love you too Daddy." Lorelai kissed her father's cheek and rested her head on his shoulder.

_

* * *

_Luke walked up behind Rory's chair and leaned over. "You wanna dance?" he asked. 

Rory looked over her shoulder. "Sure," she smiled. They walked out onto the dance floor and started to dance along with Richard and Lorelai. "Hey Luke?"

"Yeah?"

"When I get married, can you build me a chuppah?"

"Of course."

"Luke?"

"Yeah."

"Thank you. For every time you've been there for me and Mom. Thank you for being there."

"You're welcome."

"You're a great dad. The best I've ever had." Rory leaned up and kissed Luke's before tucking her head under his chin.

_

* * *

_"He really loves her doesn't he?" Richard asked. 

"Are you kidding? Luke _adores_ Rory. He even has a Rory wall," Lorelai remarked.

"A Rory wall?"

"A wall off all of Rory's accomplishments. First A, a program of her first and only dance recital, her first article at the Franklin, her article on the Life and Death Brigade. It's all up there. He couldn't love Rory more is she were his own daughter."

"I'm glad she has him in her life."

"So am I."

* * *

Once the reception was over, Luke and Lorelai went back to the honeymoon suite at the inn. They needed their privacy their first night as husband and wife and they wouldn't get it if they stayed at their house with Babette next door and Rory, Jess, Logan, Richard, and Emily occupying all the rooms in the house. "That was fun," Lorelai laughed as they walked into the secluded suite. 

"The _really _fun part hasn't even begun," Luke joked as he removed his jacket and tossed it onto a nearby chair.

"Hey, who was that guy in the navy blue suit?"

"Peaches."

"Peaches? As in, Drag Queen Peaches?"

"Yup."

"Wow, he cleans up pretty nice. He's really handsome. But what's more surprising is you danced with Carrie."

"She and Marilyn would make great friends. They both kept grabbing my butt all night."

Lorelai faced Luke. She ran her fingers up and down his chest. "I think they had a great idea there. I'd like to do some grabbing myself." Luke grinned devilishly, pulling her close and kissed her urgently. Lorelai reluctantly pulled back. "Let's go to the bedroom."

She slipped a finger under his bow tie and dragged him to the bedroom. Luke put his hands on Lorelai's arms, rubbing them tenderly. Even though they had spent many nights making love, they were still very nervous. This wasn't like the other nights. The other nights they were boyfriend and girlfriend. Tonight, they were husband and wife, declaring their love and consummating a marriage that would last the rest of their lives. With that thought in mind, Luke unzipped the back of her dress with shaky hands. After helping her out of the dress, she helped him out of his tux. It wasn't long before they were rolling around in the king-sized bed naked.

Luke hovered over Lorelai and looked down at her. "I love you," they said at the same time as Luke entered her.

* * *

**Editing Note: By request of FanFiction. Net, I edited this chapter of musical lyrics.**

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah"__: Yes, there WILL be a next time. With Luke and Lorelai gone for their honeymoon and Jess staying with his mom and TJ, Rory and Logan are left with the house all to themselves. Hm. I wonder what they will do. _**

**A/N: This chapter was originally like twenty million pages long. So I had to edit and cut scenes. The ending was edited major time. There was smut and I cried when I had to cut it. One more question, raise you had- or leave feedback to let me know you're raising your hand- if you think Rory would ask Luke to walk her down the aisle and share a Father-Daughter Dance on her wedding day. I'm honestly tossed up here and the debate with my friends is never going to end.**


	34. Rory's Luke

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 34**

The next morning, Luke and Lorelai returned to their home bright and early so they could get their bags for their honeymoon. "I can't believe you're sending us away for a month," Lorelai pretended to whine.

"The cruise is three weeks long and Jess thought it would be nice if you guys spent an extra week away," Rory remarked. "You'll be home before you know it."

"That's another thing, why send us on a cruise? Luke hates cruises."

"Well, now he's one of those guys that'll make a couple want to get drunk and tie the knot. Plus, the travel agency was having a promotion on cruises. It was that or we send you to Canada."

"You're trying to get rid of us."

"Just you. We need Luke for the coffee."

"Hey, I'm the one that pushed you out of my body."

"Again, the coffee. So, how does it feel to be Mrs. Backwards-baseball-cap?"

"Well, I'm still a little sore…"

"Mom! Please, no gory details."

"It feels great. Do you know what I did last night?"

"Something really dirty with Luke?"

"After that."

"Something really, _really _dirty with Luke?"

"I cried."

"You cried?"

"I was just so happy…I don't know. My emotions got the best of me. We made love…" Lorelai stops to try to remember how many times she and Luke had consummated their marriage.

"If you have to think about how many times it was, it was too many. What did Luke say?"

"Mostly, 'Lorelai'," she mimicked is a low tone.

"If I need to apply one more 'dirty' in this conversation, I'm out because it's getting weird."

"He said he loved me. He held me close, kissed the tears away, and said he loved me. He's a wonderful man Rory." Lorelai smiled as she watched her husband- man, she loved the way that sounded- as he put their bags in the back of his truck.

"Lorelai," Richard called as he and Emily stepped out onto the porch. Lorelai and Rory faced Richard and Emily. "We're going to head home now."

"We just wanted to say goodbye," Emily added.

"Luke!" Lorelai called.

"For the last time, I made sure I put your bag in the truck first!" Luke yelled back.

"Not that! My parents are leaving. Come here and say goodbye."

"Coming!" Jess made whipping noises. "Shut up Jess." Luke walked onto the porch and stood beside Lorelai. "Richard, Emily, it was nice having you over and thank you for everything."

"You're welcome. Be safe and have fun on your trip," Emily said hugging Lorelai and Luke.

"We will Mom," Lorelai said.

"Have a great time," Richard said, hugging Lorelai and shaking Luke's hand. "We'll be expecting lots of pictures when you get home."

"Lorelai packed the digital camera that records videos so you'll be in for slide shows and video clips galore when we get home," Luke joked.

"Ok, we better get going," Emily said.

"Emily, I'll meet you at the car," Richard said as Emily went to the car. He took out an envelope and handed it to Lorelai. "Put it toward something nice. Have fun." With that, Richard left.

"We should get going too," Luke remarked.

"Let's go then," Lorelai smiled. Luke put his arm around her as they headed to his truck. Lorelai turned to Rory before getting in the truck. "I wish you could come with us."

"That would be very awkward," Rory teased.

"You know what I meant."

"I know."

"I'm gonna miss you sweets."

"I'll miss you too." Lorelai hugged her daughter. Rory pulled away from her mother and smiled at her new step-father.

"I want you to be careful ok?" Luke said.

"Make sure house doesn't burn down, keep breathing, don't bleed. Got it," Rory joked.

Luke hugged Rory and kissed the top of her head. "Keep an eye on Jess for me."

"Surveillance cameras will be installed."

"Good girl. We'll see you in a month." Luke opened the door for Lorelai and helped her in.

"Ok, I'll see you when you get home and remember I want a brother or sister," Rory joked.

"Ah jeez," Luke groaned as he started up the truck. "Dave, Jess, we'll see you at the airport."

"We better follow," Dave said to Jess. They were following Luke and Lorelai to the airport so Jess could drive the truck back to town.

"I'll meet you at the car," Jess said. "I guess I'll see you two tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?" Rory asked, slightly confused. "Aren't you coming home?"

"No. I'm gonna stay with my mom for a while and then I'm gonna stay in Luke's old apartment."

"You don't have to do that man," Logan remarked.

"I need to spend time with my mom and myself. You two behave. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Which isn't very much."

"You're sick," Logan laughed as he shook Jess's hand.

"And you wanted to be my friend. What does that say about you?"

"That I have major head injuries. See at work tomorrow Chief."

"Chief?"

"You own a newspaper. That's people usually call their editors…"

"I thought I was Richie Rich."

"That's what we called you when we didn't like you. Man you're slow." Jess laughed. "Ok, I gotta go. See ya'll later." With that, Jess got into Dave's car and they followed Luke and Lorelai.

Logan put his arm around Rory as they headed back to the house. "So Chief is what they call me when they like me and Richie Rich is when they don't."

"Yup," Rory replied. "Consider yourself lucky that's all they call you. Dean was 'Bag Boy' and 'Narcolepsy Boy'."

"What'd they call Jess?"

"Uh, 'Luke's nephew that we all hate', 'Hefty Boy', 'That damn kid', 'Juvenile delinquent', 'The hooligan that drew the fake chalk outline in front of Doose's'…"

"You're kidding."

"No, he really made a fake chalk outline in front of Doose's Market. Taylor went ballistic."

"That Jess sure is one crazy character."

"Everyone in this town is crazy."

"I guess you're right. Ok, I have an idea. I'm gonna go to the diner and cover the morning and afternoon shift. When I get back here, I'll cook you dinner and we can watch a movie. I'll even let you pick. How's that sound?"

"Sounds good, but there's one problem."

"What's that?"

"You can't cook."

* * *

"Then when I was six, I got the chicken pox and I couldn't eat anything other than mashed potatoes. Of course, Mom couldn't cook to save her life so Luke came over everyday and made it for me. He even fed me. He practically lived on our couch for two weeks," Rory said as she munched on a cracker. 

"Quit eating those crackers," Logan said. "You're gonna ruin your dinner."

"That is if you don't ruin it first."

"This is gonna be good," Logan laughed as he pointed to the mixture in the pot. "Luke's sister gave me this recipe."

"What is it?"

"Gumbo?"

"You're making Luke's gumbo?"

"Yeah."

"Stop. Stop right now."

"What?"

"You can't make Luke's gumbo."

"Why not?"

"Because if you cook it, I'll never be able to have Luke's gumbo again and I love Luke's gumbo."

"What are you talking about? It's the same recipe."

"Just because it's the same recipe doesn't mean it's gonna come out the same."

"It'll be fine." Rory rolled her eyes. "You don't believe me? Fine. I'll test it and tell you if it tastes like Luke's gumbo." Logan put some of the gumbo in his mouth and his expression immediately turned sour. Rory tried to contain her laugh, but it wasn't working. "Dis is horrible." Logan grabbed a napkin and spit the contents out of his mouth.

"I'll go call Al's. You go brush your teeth."

"Why?"

"Because if I kiss you and that taste is still in your mouth, I'll never want to kiss you again."

"We can't have that happening." Rory went to get the phone so she could order their dinner. Logan stared at the so-called gumbo in the pot on the stove. What the hell was he thinking?

* * *

An hour and a half later, Logan and Rory were sitting in the living room watching _The Princess Bride_ with a half eaten box of pizza in front of them. Well, Rory was trying to watch the movie. Logan was watching Rory. "Watch the movie," she said, feeling his eyes on her. 

"But I like what I'm watching now," Logan teased.

"Come on Logan. It's getting to the good part."

"Oh I see a good part."

Logan leaned over and began kissing Rory's neck. She was beginning to find to very hard to resist him, so she stopped trying. She shifted her body so she was facing him and brought them down to the couch. Just as they were getting hot and heavy, the doorbell rang. Neither of them moved and the doorbell rang again, followed by a knock at the door.

"Rory," Sookie called from the other side of the door. "Rory, you in there honey?"

"I better get that," Rory said.

"No, no," Logan said, pulling her back to the couch. "Maybe if we stay really quiet, they'll think no one's home and go away."

"That never works."

"Sh. Let's just try." They didn't move or make a sound until they heard Sookie's footsteps descending the porch steps.

"That has never worked before."

"Give it time. So, where were we?" They went back to making out on the couch. They were too occupied to realize that the front door unlocked and someone walked in.

"Let's put them in…oh my," Sookie gasped when she spotted Logan and Rory.

"Sookie," Rory said, sitting up immediately. "What are you doing here? How did you get in?"

"We used the spare key."

"_We?_"

"Jackson, Kirk, and Max were supposed to bring your parents' wedding gifts over earlier, but they kept putting it off. I couldn't have the gifts sitting in the inn so we had to bring them over."

Jackson, Kirk, and Max walked into the house, each carrying a gift. "Where do you want these?" Kirk asked. "Oh, hey Rory. Rory's boyfriend."

"Logan," Logan said.

"My name's Kirk."

"No, I'm Logan."

"I'm Kirk."

"I know. I was just…"

"Honey," Rory said, putting her hand on Logan's to stop him from talking. "Don't try. You're not gonna get win with him. Hey guys, go ahead and put that stuff in here. Once it fills up in here, go ahead and put the rest of it in the garage."

After bringing in all the gifts, Max walked back into the house. "Hey Rory," he called. "We're all done. I'll be back tomorrow with the chuppah, but all the gifts are in here and there's a few in the garage. Is there anything we can do for you before we go?"

"I've got everything under control, but thank you for the offer," Rory smiled.

"Ok. Well, we'll get going then." Max headed for the door, but stopped himself. "Oh by the way, your mom called me this morning before they got on their plane and asked me to stop by to check up on you, but Luke said he _trusts_ you so I wouldn't have to. So if anyone asks, I stopped by once or twice a week to make sure you're ok."

Rory felt a little guilty about hearing that Luke trusted her to be alone in the house. Max knew what Logan and Rory were doing before they had arrived and what it was going to lead to if they had left. He didn't lie about Lorelai asking him to check on her or Luke saying not to. He added the emphasis for dramatic effect and it seemed to work.

"Oh," Rory said, looking away. "Ok."

"But before I go," Max said, taking out his wallet and pulling out a twenty dollar bill. "Here's a little something to feed you. It's not much, but I figured you'd be at the diner anyway and Jess is gonna feed you for free there."

"Thanks." Rory took the twenty and put it in her pocket.

"I'll see you tomorrow." Max gave Rory's shoulder a squeeze before leaving.

She turned to Logan and sighed. "I'm sleeping upstairs aren't I?" he asked.

"I'm sorry Logan. Luke said he trusted me," she replied. "This is his and Mom's house. I owe it to them to respect their wishes. I just don't want to disappoint them."

"I think we both know you could never do that, but it'll make you feel better, I'll sleep upstairs." Logan gave Rory a kiss on the cheek before heading upstairs to the guestroom.

"Hey Logan."

"Yeah?"

"Thank you."

He smiled at her. "You're welcome."

Rory watched as Logan disappeared up the stairs. He may not have been flannel clad, hiding his head under a backwards baseball cap, or know how to cook, but she had found her "Luke".

* * *

_**Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": Luke and Lorelai receive a very warm welcome when they return from their honeymoon. Logan has something very special for Rory. Lorelai gives Luke a gift.**_

**A/N: Sorry it took me so long to update my stories. I had a lot to deal with this past week and I barely had time to write. This chapter didn't end the way I wanted it to for some reason. I think I need more Logan/Rory interaction on the show to inspire me. We'll see how it goes after this week's episode.**

**A/N2: A lot of people are wondering why I chose "Daughters" for Lorelai and Richard's father-daughter dance because of what the song means. I picked it because it was the song my friend dance to for father-daughter dance with her step-father at her coming out party. Her step-father- who has been there for her, her whole life- recently died and she took it very hard. I wanted to do something for her, so I'm dedicating Richard and Lorelai's father-daughter dance to her.**


	35. Blue

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 35**

Luke and Lorelai arrived at the Hartford Airport on a sunny Sunday afternoon. Jess dropped the truck off for them half an hour before their flight arrived. After loading the bags into the back of the truck, Luke and Lorelai got in and headed home.

"Do you think the town changed?" Lorelai asked.

"I've lived in Stars Hollow all my life and it hasn't changed at all," Luke replied.

"You never know Luke. Maybe while we were gone those _Extreme Make Over: Home Edition_ guys came to town and changed everything."

"I highly doubt it. If anything changed in that town, Taylor would have a heart attack."

"He had a few changes made to Stars Hollow."

"Changes he wanted or couldn't stop from happening. If he had the power, Taylor would have everyone on a baby schedule."

It wasn't long before they passed the sign that said 'Welcome to Stars Hollow'. When the townspeople spotted the truck, they waved, cheered, and/or honked their horns as the newlyweds passed.

"These people don't have anything better to do in the middle of a Sunday?" Luke asked.

"Oh stop it," Lorelai said, swatting Luke's arm. "You know you like the fact that _everyone_ in town stopped what they were doing to welcome us home."

"What could they possibly miss us for? Jess was running the diner and Michel was at the inn."

"Review your last statement. Oh look! It's Patty. What is she pointing at?"

Luke heard Lorelai gasp as they drove through town square. "What? What's wrong?"

"They put up banners."

"What?" Luke looked around and noticed there were 'Welcome home Luke and Lorelai' banners hanging above Patty's studio, Doose's, the bookstore, and Kim's Antiques. "Ah jeez."

"Don't worry. They're gonna take them down. Hey, can you speed it up a little? I'm getting sleepy and I'm not feeling well."

"Again? Honey, you've been getting sick all week. Maybe you should call the doctor."

"I'll make an appointment for tomorrow."

"Good. In the meantime, just sit back and try to relax. We'll be home in a minute."

It was silent the rest of the way home. When Luke pulled into the driveway, he turned to Lorelai and found her fast asleep. He didn't have the heart to wake her. She'd been so tired lately, he was afraid something was wrong. Luke got out of the truck and walked around to Lorelai's side. He picked her up and carried her to the door.

They were half way up the porch when Lorelai woke up. "Luke?" she called, still half asleep. "Where are we?"

"We're at home," Luke replied.

"Why are you carrying me?"

"You were asleep. I didn't want to wake you."

"Although I love the idea of you carrying me over the threshold, you did it when we were on the honeymoon and once is enough. You can put me down now."

"I was never one for tradition anyway," Luke joked as he put Lorelai down.

"I wonder where Rory is. Her car isn't here and she won't answer her phone."

"I'm sure she's just hanging out with Logan or something." He unlocked the door and opened it.

They made their way to the living room and Rory, Logan, Jess, Sookie, Jackson, Liz, T.J., Kirk, Lulu, and Michel all jumped out from their hiding places and yelled "Surprise!" Rory immediately ran over to the newlyweds and hugged them.

"I missed you guys so much!" she said.

"We missed you too sweets," Lorelai smiled, smoothing her daughter's hair.

"Luke, can you make some coffee? Logan sucks at it."

"I'll make a pot in a minute," Luke laughed.

"Gee Luke, you really got away from your trendy ways on your trip," Jess joked, noticing Luke a plaid short-sleeved shirt and jean shorts.

"Come on bro, step outside the box for once," Liz added. She smiled and hugged her brother and new sister-in-law. "Would you look at you two. You're such a beautiful couple. See Lorelai, I told you you'd make a wonderful sister-in-law."

"They made me come," Michel interrupted. "I did not want to come, but Sookie threatened to put me on horse duty again."

"Quiet you," Sookie said, swatting Michel's arm. "Honey, it's great to have you home. If you were gone another day, we'd be serving French food and I'm not talking escargot."

"And your vegetables are growing beautifully," Jackson added.

"Thanks for taking care of things guys. I really appreciate it," Lorelai said.

"Luke, I want you to know I made sure things were in order at the diner while you were gone," Kirk said. "Jess and Logan did a fine job running it. Lane and that new guy Colin were great, but you might want to think about replacing the weird British guy."

"I'll keep that in mind," Luke said with a smirk.

"I can't believe you guys threw us a welcome home party. You didn't have to and this is just so…so..." Lorelai trailed off, feeling a little funny. A second later, she collapsed.

Luke instinctively caught his wife in his arms as he yelled, "Lorelai!"

* * *

The next night, Logan took Rory out to eat in New Haven after their classes. For the last month, they were driving back and forth between Yale and Stars Hollow to take care of things at the inn and the diner. After being ushered to their table, Logan pulled out a chair for Rory before taking his own across from her. "So, how's your Mom?" Logan asked, trying to make conversation. 

"She's feeling better," Rory replied with a sigh. "She came to after you guys brought in the luggage and left. Then she mumbled something to Luke about Chad Michael Murray and fell asleep again."

"That guy's over-rated."

"Don't be jealous. Anyway, she said she was fine this morning and she fainted because she was tired. She should be at the doctor as we speak."

"I hope she feels better."

"So do I. Luke said she's been sick all week and it's worrying me. I'm sure she's fine. And if there's anything wrong, she'll call you in a heartbeat."

"You're probably right."

"I'm always right." Rory laughed at her boyfriend's smugness. "How are your parents liking married life?"

"They love it. Yesterday, after Mom's second nap, they showed me a million pictures from the honeymoon and the home video they made. Nothing dirty, just Mom following Luke around, which naturally annoyed the heck out of him."

"It wouldn't be Luke if he wasn't mad."

"It was so cute. Oh, then Rachel and Max stopped by to drop off the pictures and the video Grandma had made of the wedding. They ended up staying to look through all the pictures and watch the videos. Mom got tired again so she went to bed and Jess went to his room to read while Luke and I stayed up and watched a _Back to the Future_ marathon."

"Sounds like a blast."

"It was."

"I'm glad you had a good time with your step-dad."

"Thank you."

Logan lowered his gaze to his plate. "You're perfect," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I'm not perfect."

"Yes you are. You're smart, funny, beautiful…you're all I could have ever asked for. You're amazing and I don't wanna lose you."

"You're not going to lose me."

"I know, I just want to be sure." Logan reached into his pocket and pulled out a small velvet box. He opened it and revealed a ring to Rory. "Now before you jump to any conclusions, I'm not proposing. I want you to know I'm serious about us. I'm not gonna run and one day, when we're both ready, I _will _propose. That's what this is for. It's a promise ring."

"I don't need a ring to remind me how you feel."

"If your mom knew you were passing up jewelry, she'd kill you."

"I never said I was passing up the ring. I just said I don't need it to remind me." They laughed.

Logan removed the ring from the box and slipped it onto Rory's finger. "There. Perfect."

"That's just what I was thinking." Logan smiled at Rory. She was in for a _big _surprise.

* * *

Luke busied himself on his first day back to the diner. He needed to get his mind off of Lorelai. He was really worried about her. She was edgy and nervous this morning after locking herself in the bathroom for half an hour. On top of that, she got sick again. He contemplated not going to work, but Lorelai wouldn't let him stay home. She said he was getting worked up over nothing and practically shoved him out the door. 

Luke couldn't wait for Lorelai's doctor's appointment to be over. Hopefully they'd know what was wrong. He hoped she'd stop by after her appointment, but she didn't. There was no answer at home and her cell went straight to voice mail. Once he got off work, Luke hopped into his truck and drove home as fast as he could. He took the porch steps two at a time and hurried inside.

"Lorelai!" he called. "Lorelai, you home?"

"I'm in the livingroom!" Lorelai replied. Luke hung his jacket and headed to the other room. She was just sitting on the couch. She looked...eager. She smiled at him and gave him a kiss when he walked over to her. "Hey."

"Hey to you too."

"How was work?"

"Busy, but it died down."

"Where's Jess?"

"Out getting a beer with Dean. He'll be home in a few hours." They sat on the couch. "I thought you were coming to the diner after your appointment."

"I got side tracked."

"I tried calling you."

"Phone's dead and I wasn't home."

"Where'd you go?"

"The mall."

"You enjoy yourself?"

"Shoe sale."

"Of course, because you don't have enough shoes as is."

"Oh and I got you a new suit for you to wear to Friday night dinner."

"Ah jeez. I have a suit."

"Well, now you have two."

"How'd the appointment go?"

"It was fine."

"What did the doctor say about the sickness and tiredness. Did you tell him you fainted?"

"Yes, I told him I fainted."

"And?"

"Nothing. He said I'm fine."

"You're kidding right?"

"Nope."

"Maybe we should take you to another doctor."

"That's ok. Do you want a beer?"

"Uh, sure." Luke was about to get up to get himself a beer, but Lorelai stopped him.

"I'll get it for you. But before I get the beer..." Lorelai reached over the side of the couch. She pulled out a bag and handed it to Luke. "That's for you. You open that and I'll get your beer."

"Why are you acting so weird?"

"I'm not. Just open it ok?" With that, she headed to the kitchen.

Luke sighed and reached inside the bag. He removed the contents of the bag: a tiny flannel shirt. "You bought my Build-A-Bear an extra shirt?" There was no response from the kitchen. He noticed a small piece of paper sticking out of the pocket and pulled it out. He read what was on the paper and slowly pieced it all together. The sickness, the tiredness, the fainting, and the tiny flannel shirt. It all made sense now. Three little words printed neatly on a piece of paper in Lorelai's handwriting changed his life in a heartbeat: _It was blue.

* * *

****__Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah": It's Friday night and that means dinner at the Gilmores! But when Sookie and Jackson suddenly come down with a bad- and very contagious- cold, Luke and Lorelai are called to baby sitting duty. Their parenting skills are tested when they bring the Mellville boys to Friday night dinner. Luke and Lorelai plan to tell Richard and Emily about the baby at dinner and there's a bigger audience than they expected. Luke makes an announcement that doesn't sit very well with someone at the table._


	36. Did Not! Did Too!

**Disclaimer: I still don't own the Gilmore Girls. Although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 36**

Luke and Jess left the diner at five to go home and get ready for Friday night dinner. Tonight, Luke and Lorelai were going to tell her parents that she was pregnant. It was going to be a big night and they didn't want anything to go wrong. Luke was surprised to see Sookie's minivan in the driveway. Jess headed straight for his room. Luke walked into the livingroom, expecting to see Lorelai and Sookie talking but only saw Lorelai playing on the floor with Davey and Josh.

"Hey," he greeted as he walked over to Lorelai and placed a kiss on top of her head.

"Hey, how was work?" she asked.

"Ok. You?"

"Michel was really annoying today. Can you hurt him for me?"

"Not today honey. And as much as I love having these rug rats over, you're gonna have to send Sookie and the boys home. We have to get ready for dinner."

"I'm glad you brought it up. I need to talk to you about that…"

"Lorelai, we're not skipping out on Friday night dinner. Especially not tonight. Your parents haven't seen us since we got home from our trip and we _have_ to tell them about the baby tonight. Tell Sookie she and the boys can come over tomorrow. Where is she anyway?"

"I wasn't talking about skipping out on dinner. And Sookie isn't here. Neither is Jackson."

"Please tell me you didn't kidnap their kids and carjack their minivan."

"They're sick. They caught a bad cold that's contagious and they're afraid the boys will catch it…"

"So you told them we'd watch them."

"I tried calling you, but the diner's phone was busy and you weren't answering your cell."

"Don't worry about it. I'm fine with watching them until Sookie and Jackson get better. You do realize we're going to have to bring them to dinner with us right?"

"Duh. I called Mom earlier and told her they were coming to dinner with us. It'll give Mom and Dad a chance to get used to the idea of us bringing kids that kick and scream all night to dinner."

* * *

By five thirty, everyone was dressed and ready to go. They all piled into the minivan and headed to Hartford. Jess and Rory were sitting in the back with Davey and Josh. Luke and Lorelai sat in the front, forced to listen as the two other adults fought like they were five year-olds. Luke gripped the steering wheel to calm himself. Jess and Rory's bickering, which seemed to be getting louder and poking and pinching got involved, was giving him a headache. Luke took a deep breath and let it out slowly as the 'did not, did too' argument began. 

"When you said we'd be bringing kids kicking and screaming to dinner, I thought you were talking about Davey and Josh," he said to Lorelai.

"That makes two of us," Lorelai sighed.

It seemed like an eternity to get to the Gilmore house, when in reality it was only twenty minutes. Lorelai helped Davey out of his car seat and picked up Josh. Luke grabbed the baby bag before they headed to the door. It wasn't long before Emily answered the door.

"Lorelai, you're early," Emily said, shocked to see the group.

"I'm fine, how are you Mom?" Lorelai joked.

Emily stepped aside to let the group in. "Dinner isn't until seven Lorelai."

"Well, we have something to tell you so we decided to drop by early."

Emily stared blankly at her daughter. She looked down when she heard Davey yawn. "They look tired. Greta! Bring the boys upstairs for a nap while we have drinks." The maid nodded and did as she was told.

"Emily," Richard called as he entered the room. "Who was…" He trailed off when he saw Lorelai, Luke, Rory, Jess, and the Mellville brothers in the foyer. "They're early."

"Are we seriously going to go over this again?" Lorelai asked.

"They have something to tell us Richard," Emily told her husband as they went to the livingroom.

"You came an hour early to tell us something?" Richard asked.

"And who said family values are diminishing in the American home?" Lorelai joked.

She smiled when she saw her and Luke's wedding portrait sitting on the mantle beside the family picture they had taken at the Stars Hollow Christmas party. She had done the impossible. She got Richard and Emily Gilmore, the proudest people she had ever known, to accept Luke Danes as their family. Damn she felt good.

"Lorelai, I'm assuming you'll behave yourself once you've had a drink," Richard said as he walked over to the bar and began making the drinks.

"No!" Luke, Lorelai, Jess, and Rory yelled at the same time. Richard and Emily stared at the other four adults awkwardly. Perhaps they were a little _too_ protective.

"It'll just have a soda if that's ok Dad," Lorelai said, recovering quickly.

"If you say so," Richard said. He finished making the drinks and handed them out. "So, tell us about your honeymoon."

"Yes," Emily prompted. "We're dying to know how it was."

"It was better than I expected," Luke replied. "The boat docked in Greece, Italy, and Sicily, but we were on the boat for majority of the time. The cruise itself was wonderful. We went to dinner every night, danced under the stars, and met some nice people. Although, we spent most of our time in our room. We didn't have time to see all the places you suggested, but we went to most of them."

"You know Dad, Luke fit right in when we were in Greece. Then again, he _is _built like a Greek god. Lucas, the Coffee God. It has a ring to it. Then, when we went to the Vatican in Rome, I tried to get Luke nominated for sainthood, but apparently they don't need a patron saint for coffee," Lorelai joked.

"She was a busybody on the trip."

"Ow," Jess said as Rory pinched his arm. He retaliated with a little push.

"Quit," Rory said.

"You first."

"No, _you _first. You started it."

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"That's it!" Luke yelled, grabbing Jess by the arm and made him sit on the other side of Lorelai.

"Hey, watch the arm Hercules," Jess said. "Have you lost your mind?"

"Rory, you sit over here next to me. You two have been fighting ever since we got into the car and I've had enough. You want to act like children, then you will be treated like children. Now, what are you two fighting about?"

"I don't know," Rory replied.

"What?" Lorelai asked in disbelief.

"I guess we were so busy bugging each other, we forgot," Jess replied.

"You've got to be kidding me," Luke sighed as he retreated to his seat beside Lorelai. He dropped his head and felt like crying. "A migraine for nothing."

"Aw honey, it's ok," Lorelai said, rubbing his back.

"Lorelai, didn't you say you had something to tell us?" Emily asked.

"Uh, yeah. Luke and I have an announcement."

"Well? What is it?" Richard asked.

"Mom, Dad." Lorelai paused to smile at Luke, then faced her parents again. "Luke and I are going to have a baby." Richard and Emily didn't say anything. They were just staring at each other and it was beginning to freak Lorelai out. "Mom? Dad? Did you hear me? I said I'm pregnant."

"She's pregnant," Emily said softly.

"She's pregnant," Richard repeated.

Suddenly, smiles formed on the elder Gilmores' faces. They jumped out of their seats and smiled at each other, their eyes full of excitement and great happiness. "They're having a baby!" they shouted happily at the same time. They pulled the couple out of their seats. Emily hugged her daughter as she jumped, more like bounced, for joy. Richard shook Luke's hand eagerly.

"You don't waste time do you?" Richard laughed. "Congratulations son. This...this is amazing! Luke, Jess, we need to celebrate like men! We need to have cigars. I'm going to get cigars." Richard scurried out of the room to get cigars.

"You smoke?" Jess asked Luke as he stood beside his uncle.

"Tonight," Luke smiled, "I do."

"Richard, if you're going to smoke those hideous things, smoke them on the terrace," Emily yelled to her husband. She put her hand on Lorelai's stomach and smiled. "I don't want those things around our grandchild!"

"We're going to the terrace," Richard said as he reentered the room. "Luke, Jess, follow me. Oh, Emily, have Greta serve our finest champagne and a glass of sparkling cider for Lorelai with our dinner. Tonight, we celebrate! Come on men."

* * *

Luke was silent during dinner. He seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, unaware when people spoke to him or asked him a question. Eventually, they left him with his thoughts. He was leaning forward, his hands clasped together as his mouth rested on them. "I'm going to have to sell the truck," he said suddenly, catching everyone's attention. 

"Luke, what are you talking about?" Lorelai asked.

"We're going to need a _safe_ family car. The Jeep is a death trap and there's no way the baby's gonna fit in the truck."

"You're choosing a death trap over the truck your father gave you?"

"You love that car."

"And you love the truck."

"We can't afford another car Lorelai. Not if we're going to mo…" Luke stopped himself from finishing his sentence, hoping Jess and Rory didn't catch his slip up but they did.

"Not if you're what?" Rory asked.

Luke and Lorelai stared at each other. "Should we tell them?"

"It'd be mean if we didn't now," Lorelai replied.

"Ok, uh. Well, Lorelai and I have decided to uh...move."

"What?" they all asked at once.

"I bought Old man Twickham's house. I always thought if I was going to have a family, it'd be in a house like that. They just don't build them like that anymore."

"What about the house we're living in now?" Jess asked in disbelief.

"I sold it. I also rented out my old apartment to Kirk so I could used the rent money and the profit from our house and my parents' house…"

"I can't believe you did this!"

"What's your problem?"

"You sold the house! We did all that construction for nothing."

"The buyer was more than happy to pay the price of construction on top of the house's worth."

"And the apartment…"

"What about the apartment?"

"What if I wanted to stay there?"

"If you want to stay there, split rent with Kirk."

"And you sold my grandparents' house with so much as asking anyone else in the family."

"Jess, no one has lived in that house for years. It was time we let it go. I talked to Liz and she feels the same way. Whatever sentimental attachment we have to the house, neither of us can afford to keep it. We had to sell it."

"What about me?"

"What _about_ you?"

"What if I wanted to live in the house that my mother and uncle grew up in! It may not have meant anything to you, but it sure as hell meant a lot to me!"

"Hey!" Luke yelled as he jump out of his seat. "Do not say that house meant nothing to me! I lived in that house every day of my life until the day my father died. I didn't step foot in that place for sixteen years because it hurt too much. It reminded me of my mother, it reminded me of my father, and it reminded me that I lost them! That house might mean something to you, but it means _everything_ to me!"

"Luke, please, sit down," Lorelai begged as she tugged at Luke's sleeve. "Just calm down."

"Take a deep breath Luke," Emily suggested.

"What about Rory? She grew up in that house," Jess said, rising from his seat. "What about the sentimental value she has with the house?"

"Don't drag me into this Jess," Rory pleaded.

"Don't worry about Rory," Luke said. "I am going to give my wife whatever she wants, do you understand me? If my pregnant wife wants to live in Old man Twickham's house, then she is going to live in Old man Twickham's house. If she wants a Cadillac, I'll sell my kidney to buy her a Cadillac! She is going to get whatever she wants, when she wants. She is pregnant, hormonal, and twenty times more insane because she can't have coffee! If I go crazy, then by God I'm taking you with me!"

"Stop it!" Lorelai yelled. "Just stop it! Everyone shut up!" The room hushed. "This isn't how this was supposed to be! We're supposed to be celebrating and instead, all you can do is yell at each other. Well I'm tired of it! I don't want to hear it anymore!" Lorelai quickly stood up from the table and ran out of the room with tears streaming down her face.

Luke clenched his fists. "Are you happy now? You made my wife cry! We sold the houses and rented out the apartment because we want you to live with us! You have cancer and we wanted to help you, but I guess it never occurred to you that we care." Jess stepped back in shock, but said nothing. "If you'd excuse me, I have to find my wife." Jess slowly sat down in his seat when Luke left the room.

"I didn't know," Jess confessed softly. "I didn't think they cared that much."

"You grew on Mom and Luke's always loved you like you were his own son. Just like he loves me," Rory said. "You're going through something really serious and they just want to make sure you're taken care of."

"Jess," Richard called. "I believe you own Luke and Lorelai an apology. I suggest you find them and do so."

"Yes Mr. Gilmore," Jess said.

* * *

"Hey," Luke called as he entered Lorelai's old room with Davey and Josh. "They were looking for Aunt Lorelai." 

"How'd you know I was in here?" Lorelai asked, wiping the tears away.

"You're my wife. I'm drawn to you." Luke sat down with Josh in his lap and helped Davey onto the bed. "I'm sorry about what happened down there. I didn't expect him to react like that and then I lost it. He was just being so…Jess."

"You don't have to be sorry. I'm just really sensitive right now."

"That had nothing to do with sensitivity. It was the Civil War part two down there." Luke sighed as he stood Josh on his lap. "What if our kid hates me?"

Outside the room, Jess was walking down the halls searching for Luke and Lorelai when he heard their voices coming from one of the rooms.

"Luke, our baby is not going to hate you," Lorelai reassured.

"Jess hates me. I'm the closest thing he has to a father and he hates me. Maybe we should have told him. He does have a right to an opinion since he's living with us."

"I don't hate you," Jess said as he walked into the room. "I over reacted. If you two want us to move, then we'll move. I'm sorry and I hope you can forgive me."

"Did you say 'us' and 'we'?"

"Yeah. You're not kicking me out now are you?"

Luke laughed. He stood and gave Jess a hug. "Not a chance kid. You're stuck with us."

"Hey, can I ask you guys something?"

"Sure you can," Lorelai replied.

"Who did you sell the house to?"

Luke replied, "Logan Huntzberger."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah":_ _Take a peek into the mind of Luke Danes as he prepares for his first born child. From the big move into the house formally known as Old man Twickham's to the arrival of Baby Danes. How is Luke handling Lorelai's pregnancy? Is it a boy? Or is it a girl? Is it twins? How is Luke taking to be a daddy? You'll find out soon enough!_**

**_Note: The preview of the next chapter is subject to change._**

**A/N: I originally had Nicole, Digger, Hank Leahy, and Floyd there when Luke and Lorelai announced they were having a baby, but I got tired of Digger and Nicole so I edited them out. Hahahaha.**


	37. Pregnancy According to Luke

**Disclaimer: I still don't own _Gilmore Girls, _although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 37**

Someone in heaven likes me. That's right. Someone up there likes me. In two months, I married the woman of my dreams and moved into the house I've admired my whole life. To top it off, my crazy, beautiful wife is going to have my baby. I stress the word _crazy._ Now that she can't have coffee, she's crazier than I ever thought imaginable. But I can't complain. Seriously, I can't complain. She won't let me.

Not only is she crazier, she's more emotional. The week before we moved, she told me how much she was going to miss the house and how she and Rory lived there for ten years and a bunch of other things that just kept making her cry. She was so sad, I actually thought about reconsidering moving. But she insisted that we did. I had to do something for her. So I worked on a project for her at our new house. We moved into the new Danes residence. After Jess and I brought in the furniture and the boxes, I brought Lorelai upstairs and showed her my surprise.

"Oh my God," she gasped when we walked into the room and looked around. I had turned one of the rooms into a nursery. I painted, put in furniture, and filled the room with baby clothes and teddy bears. She was trying not to cry. "I can't believe you did this for me."

"You were so sad, I had to do something," I told her. I walked up behind her. "I built the crib, the dresser, and the rocking chair."

"Are they stable?"

"I personally sat in the rocking chair, Logan _stood_ on the dresser, and I put Jess in the crib." Man, that was funny. I tied Jess up and tossed him in the crib. I took pictures too. Lorelai turned around and hugged me. That's what it's all about.

Lorelai can be this sensitive, love-dovey, "hold me because I'm about to cry" woman, but then…oh man. She can turn on you in a split second. I don't know what it is, but when she starts yelling at me I can't move. I just sit there and stare at her while she lets me have it. She gets pissed off that I'm not defending myself, but when I do defend myself she goes nuts! I can't win with _that_ Lorelai. She's mean when she's mad. There was once when she thought I was hiding from her. She found me. And she yelled. Oh boy did she yell. Again, the brain-legs coordination was horrible.

It was when she started to grow a belly. She couldn't fit into a pair of pants and I noticed they were my pants. I told her and then she started to stare at me with this look. That look. It sends shivers down my spine just thinking about it. Then came the yelling. It was like she'd turned into her mother and I was one of the maids, but I wasn't stupid enough to say that out loud. She told me to leave, so I did. I didn't want there to be an argument. I figured she needed time alone and I respectfully obliged. After she stormed out of the room, I grabbed the baby book I'd been reading and headed to the diner. I went into the storage room, shut the door, and started to read.

"Where is he?" I heard her yell. Oh shit. She sounded mad. _Very_ mad. "Jess! Where is he?"

"In the storage room," Jess replied immediately. He's more afraid of her than I am.

I knew needed to get out of there. I stood up and looked for means of escape. Then it hit me. I was in the storage room. There was no way out! Now I really did have to hide. That was my only option. I was looking for a little space I could crawl into behind the boxes when I heard the door shut. She found me. Maybe if I don't move, she wouldn't notice me. Who am I kidding? I slowly turned around and faced my very angry, very pregnant wife.

"Now honey, don't…don't get yourself worked up here," I pleaded.

"You ran out of the house when I left the room," she said.

"You told me to leave." She started to come toward me. Run you idiot! Run! I didn't run. I was frozen. I did manage to say, "Remember you love me."

"Did you really think I didn't know where you'd go? You hid at your friggin' diner! God, Luke, you ran out on me!" She backed me into the corner. I think she's gonna try to beat me up. Correction, she _can _beat me up. "Is this how it's gonna be Luke? You get scared and you run away and hide like a little girl?"

I try not to remember what she said after that. It was mean. She called me a spineless jellyfish. I think at one point she called me Nancy. I never understood why people do that. I remember everyone in the diner was silent and staring at me as Lorelai dragged me out of there by the ear. After we left, I swear I could still hear them laughing when we got home.

Then, there's the food cravings. We made an agreement that I would eat whatever she ate- that is until it got to the really weird crap. In the beginning, it was the usual things I disapproved of- hamburgers, fries, pies, questionable Chinese food. I waited for the disgusting stuff- to me, I was already eating the disgusting crap- to come in play. Then something happened. She was eating, dare I say it, healthy. That's right. What she used to hate eating-the things I practically bribed her to eat and she still cheated me out of- she can't get enough of. I'm talking about salad, vegetables, and food that doesn't increase your chances of clogged arteries. The day came when Lorelai began to ask for food like peanut butter pickles with a side of mashed potatoes and maple syrup. Those foods were as dependable as her mood. Here one minute, gone the next.

Despite the mood swings, morning sickness, and food cravings, I'm loving this pregnancy thing. Lorelai's hormones aren't just affecting her mood. They're affecting _other_ things. Dirty things. Making love to my wife is great all on it's own, but when the hormones kicked in she does things that I never thought possible. She's gotten so aggressive, sometimes I don't think I can keep up but I always do. There was a day she actually came to the diner and dragged me upstairs for some dirtiness- Kirk decided to move in with Lulu. With forty-seven jobs, he couldn't afford to pay me rent. Don't ask how or why because wouldn't know.

I was taking an order when I heard the bells above the door jingle. Next thing I knew, my ordering pad was pulled out of my hand and Lorelai's dragging me toward the curtain.

"Hey! I'm working here," I said as I struggled against her.

"Jess! You're in charge!" she yelled. Jess nodded. He learned it was easier not to fight her.

"Lorelai, what are you…" I didn't get to finish my sentence. Once we were behind the curtain, she pushed me against the wall and started kissing me like there was no tomorrow.

"Upstairs. Now!" I love it when she takes charge.

The second we got into the apartment she started to rip both our clothes off. I won't go into the gory details of what we did that day, but I will say this. I walked into that diner with the biggest, brightest smile across my face. And by the glares I was getting, I'm pretty sure everyone knew why.

It still amazes me why a woman like Lorelai Gilmore would be interested in a man like me. I was nothing like any of the other men she dated. They had money, real jobs. As for me, I've lived in this friggin' town all my life and all I had to show for all my hard work was a diner that used to be a hardware store. In reality, I think I only had two competitions: Max and Christopher. I'll admit, when we saw Max that day at the restaurant, I felt threatened. Wouldn't you? He was going to _marry_ Lorelai. The day he walked into the diner for coffee when he moved into town, I knew I had to do something. So I took a page out of Gilmore book and manipulated Max. Now he's dating my ex-girlfriend. And between you and me, he's gonna propose. Then there's Christopher. The man that will never go away, no matter how hard I try. He'll forever be in Lorelai's life because he's Rory's father. But we all know who'd kick who's ass if we ever got in a fist fight. Man, I'd love to break that guy's neck.

One thing I did that really got on Lorelai's nerves was the fact that I refused to know what the sex of the baby was going to be. I'm going in the delivery room when she goes into labor, but I don't want to know what the baby is until it actually comes out. I just wanted to be surprised. I mean, we already came up with names for the baby so we're set either way. I wasn't the only one on the "I don't wanna know the sex of the baby" wagon. Rory, Jackson, Kirk, Lane, Richard, and Emily were just a few people on "my side". Anyone that stepped foot into the diner wasn't allowed to talk about the sex of the baby or I'd throw them out. Literally. I took personal pleasure in throwing Taylor out flat on his ass. At the next town meeting, he announced that I was serious and people should heed my warnings while he rubbed his sore spot when he thought no one was looking. Kirk jumped out of his seat, pointed at Taylor and yelled, "He's rubbing his butt because he didn't listen to Luke! You need to listen to Luke or you'll be rubbing your butt too!" Kirk is a very odd young man.

This whole experience has been insane. There have been good days and bad days and the occasional misunderstanding, but I was there. I was always there. I never ran away (I hope she realizes that now). There were times when I didn't think I could handle it or her. There were times when I thought I wasn't cut out to be a dad. And yet, I stayed. I stuck with her through all the mood swings, all the cravings, all the appointments, all the screaming, all the fighting, all the laughs, all the tears- I was there for it all.

It's the beginning of January and Lorelai is three weeks over due. It's become abundantly clear that we're going to have to induce labor. The doctor gave us a list of suggestions of ways to do so. We can't do the spicy foods because she's going through a phase where she hates spicy foods. Walking was out of the question too. She can barely make it down the block without her ankles feeling too sore. That left one option. The one I just so happened not to feel so comfortable about doing- not that I wouldn't mind doing it. That calls for a dirty. What they want me to do is dirty! Ok, I'll jump at any opportunity to make love to my wife, just not when she's three weeks past her due date. I might hurt the baby. Especially since we haven't been intimate in months and I can't exactly touch myself without her knowing. That's another thing. How does she know? It's like she's got cameras watching me twenty-four/seven. None the less, if we had sex, I'd be rough. I won't lie. I'll give it to her like never before. I hate to be crude, but it's the truth! We're not having sex and that's final!

So I'm getting naked, when suddenly she starts to cringe. This is putting a major dent in my ego. I'm naked and Lorelai's cringing. Then she started to scream. Holy crap. She wasn't cringing because I was naked. She was cringing because her water broke and she's going into labor! Oh my God! What the hell am I supposed to do? While I ponder this thought, the door swings open and Rory and Jess are at the door. I grab the first thing I see to cover myself. My baseball cap isn't doing a good job of covering me.

"Luke! You're naked!" Rory yelled as she covered her eyes.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" Jess added.

"I was trying to induce labor!" I yelled back.

"By getting naked and playing with yourself?"

"I wasn't playing with myself! The doctor told me to have sex with Lorelai!"

"You're paying for my therapy!" Rory said, still covering her eyes.

I back toward the dresser and put some boxers on. I toss my hat aside (Jess and Rory leap out of it's path) and run to my wife. "Honey, are you ok?" I asked.

"We have to get to the hospital," she stated. "This baby wants out and it wants out now!"

I had to take charge. I told Jess to start the van- by the way, Richard and Emily bought us a minivan as a baby shower gift- and had Rory make the calls- Sookie, her grandparents, Liz, Max and Rachel, and Patty. I put clothes on and helped Lorelai downstairs. We were on our way to the hospital in less than five minutes. We were _at _the hospital in less than five minutes- I was a mad man on that road. Plus the Stars Hollow Hospital is a few blocks away from the house. Lorelai was prepped and brought to the delivery room. I was having trouble with those fruity scrubs. I finally got them on and joined my wife in the delivery room. I held her hand and tried to calm her down with words of encouragement, but it only seemed to get her madder.

"Ok, you're doing just fine," I said to her. "You're doing great honey."

"Shut up! What the hell do you know?"

"I was just…uh…I love you?"

"Well I hate you for doing this to me! I'm sorry. I didn't mean that. It just hurts. How could I forget how much this hurts?"

"I'm not gonna forget," I groaned. She was crushing my hand. Oh Jesus. She's crushing my hand! I can forget about teaching the kid to play baseball.

"Ok Mrs. Danes, you're just about ready to start pushing," the doctor said. "On three, I want you to give us a big push. One, two, and three."

I know I shouldn't be getting jealous, but I really don't like the fact that the doctor's looking at her…downstairs. I felt like yelling, "Hey! Cover your eyes buddy! That's my wife you're staring at!" But then again, I think it would be difficult to deliver a baby with your eyes closed. I let it pass. But if he's still staring after that kid comes out, I'm kicking ass. Twenty minutes and one broken hand later, I hear the first cries of my baby. My baby. I'm…I'm a daddy. Oh God. I'm a daddy.

"Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Danes," the doctor said. "You have a healthy baby boy."

"A boy? It's a boy?" I asked. The doctor held him up for me and Lorelai to see. Hell yeah he's a boy! I can't help myself. I'm crying. I look down at Lorelai and she's crying too. I lean down and kiss her.

"Would you like to cut the umbilical cord Mr. Danes?"

"Uh, sure." I walk over to where the doctor is standing and the nurse hands me scissors. "Ok, I don't wanna cut the wrong thing off."

The nurse showed me where to cut and I snipped the cord. They wrapped him in a blue blanket and let me carry him over to his mommy. I place the little guy in her arms and stay with them until they say it's time to take him to the nursery. While they take Lorelai to her room, I run out to the waiting room where all of our friends and family are waiting.

"It's a boy!" I announce, throwing my arms in the air in rejoice. And the crowd goes wild! "He's healthy. There's ten toes and ten fingers…" I can't speak anymore.

"Congratulations son," Richard says, shaking my hand vigorously. "A boy. We have a grandson Emily." Emily is too happy for words. She's covering her mouth, but I can see the smile. I nod, telling her I know what she's thinking.

Jess walks up to me. He stands there for a second before throwing his arms around me and I hug him back. "I have a son," is all I can say to him.

"And he's gonna love you," he tells me. I needed to hear that.

Now it's Rory's turn. There are tears in her eyes that she's fighting back, but she breaks. She too throws her arms around me and I hold my daughter, _my_ daughter, as tight as I can. I feel her kiss my cheek and she whispers, "Thank you."

"For what?" I ask.

"For being a great dad." Seriously, I'm like waterworks today. After we pull apart, I get a few more 'congratulations' in before the doctor tells me Lorelai wants to me to go to the room.

"Hey there Daddy," Lorelai says softly with a tired smile. She's holding our son and I slowly approach the bed. I look down at the tiny little guy. "Would you like to hold him?"

"Uh…that's ok. I'm good."

"You don't want to hold our son?" I shake my head as I take a few steps back. She looks at me. She's irritated. "Luke, what's wrong with you?"

"I'm scared," I confess.

"Of what?"

"The baby."

"Honey, I'm pretty sure you can take him."

"That's just it."

"You're going to beat up our baby?"

"No!" I scratch my head. Why does everything have to be a joke with her? "I don't wanna…hurt him. I'm scared I'll crush him or…drop him."

"Luke, you're not going to crush or drop him."

"I dropped Jess when he was a baby."

"You're not going to drop the baby." I just stare at her. "Luke, get over here." Apparently, the hormones are still in tact. I make my way back to the bed. "Take our son."

"But…"

"Take our son." By the way she says it, I know she means business.

I take a deep breath and gently take the baby out of her arms. Suddenly, I know exactly what to do as if it comes naturally. "Hey there little guy," I say as I take a seat in the chair next to the bed. "I'm your daddy."

I reach to touch his face, when he wraps his tiny hand around my finger. I freeze. I've never felt what I am right this moment. It finally settles into my mind: I'm a father. Up until this moment, it all felt so surreal like it was this great dream I never wanted to end. But now, as my son clutches to my finger, I know it's real. This is real. I'm a father. I look up at my wife and know she's thinking what I am. We smile at each other. Everything is perfect.

Our "moment" is interrupted when the nurse walks in. "Mr. and Mrs. Danes," she says. "I'm sorry to interrupt, but I was just wondering if you've decided on a name for the baby."

I look at Lorelai and smile. "His name is Lucas William."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah":_ _Logan tells Rory he bought her childhood home. How will she react? Luke hits a snag with the buyer of his parents' house. As visitors come in and out of the Danes home to see the new baby, they catch a glimpse of a side of Luke they'd never seen. Lorelai asks for a favor._**

**A/N: I got the idea of inducing labor from an episode of _Friends_ and added a little Larry the Cable Guy humor to it. For those who have no clue what I'm talking about, Larry the Cable Guy does a bit in his shows where he makes this big deal about putting his foot down about a subject and sticking firm by it, then two seconds later he's cracking a joke about how he ends up doing it anyway. I'm horrible at explaining it, but I'm listening to his CD and I just had to do it. I know the name Lucas William is used in like every LL/JJ fic that involves them having a little boy, but I had no clue what to name the kid. Lol.**


	38. A Tale of Two Houses

**Disclaimer: I still don't own _Gilmore Girls, _although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 38**

Rory and Logan walked through the snow covered trail behind the Dragon Fly Inn. The last few weeks of winter break were closing in and Rory wanted to spend as much time with her little brother as possible because the next few months leading to her glorious graduation at Yale would be busy beyond belief. She wouldn't even have time to come down on weekends.

"So how's the little guy?" Logan asked as he picked up some of the snow and formed a ball.

"Lucas is fine," Rory replied with a smile. "He's almost twice the size a two week old baby should be. But then you look at Mom, Luke, and Grandpa who are all over six feet tall and realize that the kid is bound to be tall. Liz showed me pictures of Luke as a baby and Lucas looks exactly like him. He does, although, have Mom's eyes."

"I'm sorry I haven't been around to see the little guy. I've been busy with…stuff."

"Don't worry about it. We have people walking in and out of the house all day. Hey, why don't you stop by today?"

"I think I will. I can just see that kid running around screaming for coffee at the top of his lungs. Luke doesn't have a chance." Logan tossed the snowball into the distance and wiped the excess flakes off his leather gloves. "So, you like having a baby around to play with?"

"Yeah. Puts youth back into our lives. I mean, I never see Gigi and it's just nice to…I don't know. Have a baby around."

"You ever think about having kids?"

"Um, I guess." To be honest, Logan's questions were beginning to freak Rory out. If anything, she was her mother's daughter and she wasn't sure if she wanted to be talking about having kids with Logan or anyone for that matter.

"It'd be nice though right? Having the whole package? Settling down with someone you could grow old with, share a home with a great big green yard and white picket fence, and have a couple rug rats running around. It'd be nice right?"

"What are you talking about?"

Logan sighed. He might as well tell her now. "You know how your parents sold your house?"

"Yeah, but what does that have to do with what we're talking about?"

"I bought the house." Rory stared at Logan. There wasn't really any kind of expression present. That couldn't be a good sign. "Rory…"

"You bought my house?"

"I bought it for you. I thought you'd want to…"

"Want to what Logan?"

"I thought…um…I…"

"You what? Spit it out!" Logan said nothing. "You're planning our future aren't you?"

"I wanted it to be a surprise. Luke said something about wanting to raise a family in Old man Twickham's house, but not being able to afford it so I bought the house and paid for the cost of construction. That way they had enough to pay for the house."

"I didn't ask you to buy my parents' house! You forced them out! You made them move!"

"No! Luke wanted to move!"

"Luke loved that house. He practically built it with all the repairs he did over the years. He just wanted Mom to be happy and she was happy _in that house_!"

"I can't believe you're mad at me for buying a house."

"I can't believe you did this. I know you want a future with me Logan, but we agreed to take it slow. I want a career as a journalist and you're inheriting your father's business. How are we going to launch our future if we're bound to Stars Hollow for the rest of our lives?" Rory shook her head and headed back toward the inn. She paused and faced Logan. "What really bothers me is you didn't even ask me how I felt. You just went out and did what you want."

Logan stood there in the snow as he watched the woman he planned to spend the rest of his life with walk away from him.

* * *

After putting the baby down for his nap, Lorelai went into the kitchen to grab something to eat. She walked in to see Luke sitting at the table. It looked like he was in the middle of a very stressful phone call. 

"I can give you all time you need to reconsider. Are you sure?" he asked as he ran his fingers through his hair. "Oh. I'm sorry to hear that. I understand. Thank you anyway. Goodbye." Luke hung up the phone and let out an aggravated sigh.

"What's wrong honey? Did the Dodgers screw up another season?" Lorelai joked.

"I just got off the phone with Mr. Harper. Apparently, his job is transferring him to Boston instead of Hartford. He's not going to buy the house."

"Is that a bad thing?"

"It's very bad. Lorelai, we needed that money for our mortgage payment. If we don't sell my parents' house, we might lose ours."

Lorelai knew that Luke didn't want to live in his parents' house because it would hurt him too much to be in that house. "We'll find a way honey."

Luke took a deep breath as he stood and walked over to Lorelai, leaning against the refrigerator. "Maybe I can talk to Logan and see if he'll sell us the house back."

"No, Luke, no. You wanted this house and we're going to live in this house. We'll find a way to pay for the mortgage. I promise." She rubbed his arms. "Come on. I'm supposed to be the crazy one remember? I need you to be sane."

"I'm sane."

She brought him in for a kiss and smiled against his lips. "I'm loving the stubble."

"Dirty. I'm gonna shower, check on the baby, and take a nap. Hopefully, it'll clear my head."

"Ok." She kissed him one more time before letting him go upstairs. "Hey Luke."

He paused and faced his wife. "Yeah?"

"Everything's going to work out." Luke gave a weak smile before heading upstairs. Lorelai let out a sigh. She knew what she had to do.

* * *

Lorelai hurried to answer the door. It'd been nearly two hours since someone last came to see the baby. Two hours of peace and quiet. She missed that. When she opened the door, Rachel and Max were standing on the other side. "Hey guys," Lorelai greeted with a smile. "Come on in." 

"Sorry to bother you Lorelai," Rachel said as she and Max stepped inside. "I had to wait for Max to get off work so we could come over."

"Don't worry about it."

"Where's Luke?" Max asked.

"Upstairs sleeping. He's having a bad day."

"Why? What happened?" Rachel asked.

"Mr. Harper decided not to buy his parents' house, so now he's tweaking out that we can't pay the mortgage."

"Why don't you just file for a loan? Luke's an upstanding citizen with a great credit line. I'm sure the bank would give it to you."

"I don't try to pretend to understand how Luke's mind works."

"Funny, he said the same thing about you the other day," Max teased. Rachel shot him a glare. "I was trying to lighten the mood."

"Well, don't," Rachel ordered. "So I'm guessing our late lunch is off."

"I'm sorry guys. Luke's just really tired. His paternity leave ends in two weeks and I don't want him falling asleep on the grill when he goes back to work. Why don't you guys stay for dinner? It's Rory's last night in town before heading back to smart school."

"We can do that. Do you think we can take a peek at the baby?"

"Of course." Lorelai brought Max and Rachel upstairs to the nursery, but Lucas wasn't in his crib. "I guess Luke brought him to the bedroom. Follow me." She brought them down the hall to the master bedroom she and Luke shared.

They were all surprised at what they saw when they walked into the room. Luke was lying in the middle of the bed in his plaid boxers and next to him was little Lucas wearing matching shorts. They were both fast asleep in the same position.

"Oh my God," Rachel said. "That's adorable!"

"Where did you find pants like that for the baby?" Max asked.

"I found them at Babies 'R' Us last week," Lorelai replied, trying to contain a laugh. "It was pure coincidence they're matching."

"I'm taking a picture," Rachel stated as she took out her camera and took a few pictures.

Luke started to stir in his sleep because of the flash of the camera. "What's going on?" he asked sleepily.

"We're capturing the moment grumpy pants," Lorelai teased. "Go back to sleep."

"We?" Luke sat up and noticed that Max and Rachel were with Lorelai. "Ah jeez. Why did you bring them in here? I'm in my underwear!"

"It's not like you're completely naked. Although, I wouldn't mind…"

"Out."

"We're going, we're going. Geez, I like you better when you're sleeping."

Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Luke before she, Rachel, and Max went back downstairs. Ten minutes later, Luke, now fully clothed, joined them with baby Lucas.

"How many people have you let in to see him?" Luke asked as he handed his son to Rachel.

"A few," Lorelai replied, avoiding eye contact with him.

"How many is 'a few'?" She mumbled a response. "What?"

"I said twenty."

"Twenty?"

"Twenty-two counting Max and Rachel."

"We're not supposed to expose him to too many people! He can get sick. I am not putting our son's health at risk because those loons haven't seen Will."

"Who's Will?" Max asked.

"The baby," Lorelai replied.

"I thought his name was Lucas."

"It is. We're gonna call Lucas Will like we call Rory Rory so it doesn't get confusing since Luke's Lucas and I'm Lorelai."

"I'm sorry, you lost me."

"His nickname is Will," Luke stated. "Lorelai, we shouldn't expose him to too many people because of the airborne germs they might be carrying."

"Where did you learn that?" Rachel asked.

"He has a book," Lorelai replied. "He actually went out and bought a daddy manual. He reads the damn thing like it's the bible."

"Watch your language," Luke warned. "He's young, but he can still hear."

"You read that in your stupid book?"

"Stop knocking my book."

"It's just a book."

"I can't better myself to be a good father to our son?"

"Oh you can, but you don't have to be so uptight all the time."

"I'm not uptight."

"Get the stick outta there slugger."

"You're insane."

"And you're cranky. You need to start sleeping again." Lorelai faced their friends. "Did you know he doesn't sleep anymore?"

"I do too."

"He _pretends_ to sleep. Then when he thinks I'm asleep, he sneaks out of the room and watches Will sleep."

"You watch him sleep?" Rachel asked.

"No," Luke replied quickly.

"Liar! I caught you twice and Jess almost killed you with a bat four times because he thought you were a burglar."

"So maybe I do check up on Will once and a while. I just want to make sure he's ok."

"He's not gonna suddenly stop breathing because you're not watching him."

"Wow Luke. I never thought of you being so…daddy like," Max remarked. "With Rory, yeah. But this is different."

"Yeah. You've really changed," Rachel added. "You've always been protective, but after hearing this, you've gone from Lonely Luke to Daddy Dearest in the blink of an eye. It's comforting to know a guy like you can turn into this family man. You finally have your family Luke and I'm happy for you."

"I've always had my family. It's right here," Luke smiled, putting his arm around Lorelai.

"I love my grumpy, backwards baseball cap, flannel clad Coffee Man, but I have to admit, I love it more when he's Daddy Luke," Lorelai smiled.

"I thought you weren't going to call me 'Coffee Man' in public anymore," Luke said.

"Would you rather I call you Burger Boy? Or Diner Guy? Or Big…"

"Lorelai!"

"Well, it's nice to know _some_ things never change," Rachel laughed.

* * *

"It was Luke's parents' house," Lorelai stated. "The people that originally bought the house aren't going to buy it and a Luke and I won't be able to pay our mortgage if we don't sell it. His parents shared that house for fifteen years and raised two children in it. Luke loves it, but he can't live in it. You know how he feels. How could you not? Luke loves the house we're in now. He dreamed of starting a family in that house. He's done so much for me, I want- no _need_ to do something for him. I need to keep him in that house. I swear, this will be the last thing I ever ask for. It's not even for me. It's for Luke. So, please, can buy the old Danes residence?" 

"Are you through Lorelai?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. We'll buy the house."

"Oh thank you so much. You don't know how happy this'll make Luke. Thank you."

"You're welcome. So, we'll see you Friday."

"Yeah, Friday," Lorelai sighed. _And every Friday for the rest of my life,_ she thought to herself. "See you Friday Dad."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah":_ _Christopher catches a glimpse into Lorelai's life with Luke and Will when he shows up at Rory's Yale graduation. Rory does something Logan never expected._**

**A/N: I had to put in the Dodgers comment. My family and I are HUGE Giants fans. Lifers baby. Hahaha. Ok. I'm pondering if the next chapter should be the last. It's really floating up there in my brain. Not a lot of space. Lol. We'll see how it goes. **


	39. Daddy for Dummies

**Disclaimer: I still don't own _Gilmore Girls, _although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**Chapter 39**

"How many tickets did she get?" Jess asked, carrying the baby bag and push the stroller down the aisle.

"Nine," Luke replied. "Richard pulled some strings and got us extra tickets."

"The power of being an alumni," Richard said proudly.

"So, there's you, Lorelai, Jess, Richard, Emily, Lane, Jackson, and me," Sookie said. "I only counted eight. Anyone else count eight?"

"I counted eight," Lane replied.

"It is eight," Lorelai said. "Rory said she needed to keep one."

"For what?" Emily asked.

"I don't know mother. She just said that she needed to keep one."

Lane pulled Jess aside before they sat down. "You don't think she invited…" she started.

"I wouldn't finish that thought and let's hope not," Jess replied.

"What are you two whispering about?" Luke asked as he situated Will on his lap.

"We're just talking about how proud we are of Rory and Dave," Lane lied.

"What she said," Jess added.

"Well, sit down already," Lorelai said. "The ceremony is gonna start soon."

* * *

Logan slumped in his chair as Colin and Finn continued to babble about something absolutely pointless. It was pointless until he heard Rory's name come up. After their fight four months ago, they seemed to become more distant. Sure, they made an appearance together at Luke and Lorelai's anniversary dinner, but other than that they only spoke once and a while and saw each other once or twice a week. But then, it stopped. Rory had said she wanted time to think about what she wanted- from life and from Logan. He hadn't heard from her since. They passed each other in the halls every so often, but that was it. For one month, they were strangers again and Logan hated it. Then he heard his two best friends say her name. 

"What about Rory?" Logan asked. He knew he sounded desperate, but he didn't care.

"Her parents are throwing her a kick ass party back in the Hollow and Mrs. D just invited us," Colin replied.

"When did you see Mrs. Danes?"

"About ten minutes ago," Finn replied. "You didn't notice we were gone?"

"I, uh, have things on my mind. She didn't happen to say anything about me did she?"

"No. She figured Rory invited you already. She's expecting you to be there."

"How do you know?"

"I think it was a tip off when she said, 'I'll see you two and Logan at the party'," Colin joked.

"I thought she would have told her mother by now. Look, guys, I'm gonna get in place for the ceremony. I'll see you later."

Logan got up and headed for his place in line. He was standing in his place when he realized he left his watch with Colin. When he turned around to find his friend, he accidently bumped into someone. It was Rory.

"Oh, Logan, hi," she greeted.

"Hey Ace," he greeted shyly. "How…how have you been?"

"I'm good. You?"

"I'm…ok. How's your brother?"

"He's getting big. Looks more like Luke everyday."

"That's good. I guess." They were both quiet. "Listen, Rory, I've been thinking…"

"Rory!" Paris called, interrupting Logan.

"I have to go," Rory said, lowering her head and scurrying off quickly.

Logan stood alone. It was over. Whatever he and Rory once had was over. They were over. Now he just had to get over it.

* * *

"When's Rory up?" Jackson asked. 

"Soon," Lorelai replied.

"Soon as in a few more people or soon as in shut up already?"

"Soon as in I'm going to kill you if I miss her name being called," Luke snapped.

"Boys, that's enough," Emily stated.

"Paris Eustace Gellar," the announcer called.

"How many more till Rory?" Sookie asked after the announcer called a few other names.

"She's next," Jess replied.

"Lorelai Leigh Gilmore," the announcer called.

The group erupted in cheers as Rory walked onto the stage and was handed her diploma. She stopped and posed for the oncoming pictures from her family. As she took a second to look out at them, she noticed they had all calmed down and were now wiping tears from their eyes. Luke had his arm around Lorelai, pulling her close as they smiled proudly at their daughter on stage.

"She did it," Lorelai smiled through her tears. It seemed to be all she could say.

"Yeah," Luke said with a proud smile. "She did." He pulled Lorelai closer to him and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

The announcer was calling the last of the graduating students meaning the ceremony would be over very soon. Rory stared down at the diploma in her hands. She did it. She'd graduated from Yale and was on her way to becoming a journalist. Her dreams were about to come true. Most of them at least. 

She heard Colin, who was sitting next to her, get out of his seat and climbed into the row behind them as someone else took his seat. She turned her head to see Logan.

"I just wanted to tell you I'm sorry," Logan stated. "I didn't mean to scare you off. I bought the house because I thought it would be a nice gift. I shouldn't have bought it and I'm sorry. If you never want to speak to me, that's fine with me. I just need you to know I did what I did because I love you. Now that I've said what I needed to, I'll leave you alone."

"Ladies and gentlemen," the dean said. "I present to you the Yale graduating class of 2007!"

Everyone jumped out of their seats and tossed their caps into the air. Logan was about to so the same when Rory grabbed his arm and asked him something he never expected, "Logan, will you marry me?"

* * *

Lorelai broke away from the group after the ceremony in search of Rory. Dave and Paris had already found the group, but there was no sign of Rory so Lorelai went to find her. She decided to look for Logan. Wherever he was, she was most likely to be. She made her way through the crowd and bumped into the last person she expected. 

"Lore," Christopher smiled. "Hey."

"Christopher, what are you doing here?" Lorelai asked in shock. "Last I heard, you and Rory weren't on speaking terms."

"We're not really, but last week she sent me a ticket and this."

Christopher handed Lorelai a piece of paper. She unfolded it and read the note aloud. "This is a ticket to my graduation. Use it or not. You can show up if you want, it's up to you. Rory." Lorelai laughed to herself. "There's the ninth."

"The ninth? What's that mean?"

"The ninth ticket. Rory had my dad get extra tickets for all of us and we were wondering what happened to the ninth ticket."

"I was pretty surprised myself. She was really angry at me the last time we spoke."

"She never did tell me what happened. When I got back from my honeymoon, she just said that she wasn't speaking to you anymore."

Christopher knew why Rory stopped speaking to him. It was because of what happened at the wedding. She called him a week after the incident and told him that she was done with him. That if he cared about her or Lorelai, he wouldn't have tried to stop the wedding and would leave well-enough be. But he couldn't tell Lorelai. It was obvious no one told her he tried to crash the wedding. He simply said to her, "I'll leave it up to her to tell you."

"And if she doesn't?"

"Then it's for the best."

"Mom!" Rory called as she ran toward her mother. "Mom!"

"Hey kiddo!" Lorelai greeted happily as she welcomed her daughter with open arms. "Oh, I'm so proud of you!"

"Thanks Mom." Rory let go of Lorelai and took a step back to see Christopher. "You're here."

"You invited me," Christopher said. "Congratulations kid."

"Thanks. Hey Mom, where is everyone?"

"We're all waiting for you! Dave and Paris found us before you did!" Lorelai joked.

"Oh, I kinda had something to take care of. Mom, why don't you go back to the group and I'll meet you there in five minutes."

"Ok. Five minutes. Any longer and we're send out a search party."

"Five minutes, I got it."

"Bye Chris. It was nice to see you again."

"You too." With that, Lorelai left. Rory stared at her father with her arms crossed over her chest. "You didn't tell her about me showing up at her wedding?"

"No."

"And Luke didn't either."

"He didn't think she needed to know. He didn't want Mom to think less of you."

"Rory…"

"Mom and Dad are throwing me a big party back in Stars Hollow." Christopher felt his heart break when his daughter referred to Luke as her father. "You should come."

"What?"

"The whole town is going to be there. There's something I want you to see and I have a special announcement to make. If you're not there to hear it, then you'll never hear it." She didn't let Christopher respond. She turned on a heel and headed toward her awaiting group.

* * *

Christopher hesitantly got out of his car and made his way to the huge party being thrown in the middle of town square. He felt very uncomfortable, especially with the deadly glares Babette was throwing at him. He hurried to look for a friendly face, but then he remembered where he was. Stars Hollow was Luke's town. They all knew who Christopher was and they knew what his record was like. He spotted Rory and made his way over to her. 

"Rory," he called as he jogged over to his daughter.

"You came," she said.

"You invited me. So, what was it you wanted me to see?"

Rory turned Christopher around. "That," she said, pointing to Luke and Lorelai who were at a table with Richard, Emily, and Jess a few feet away.

Christopher took a few steps forward so he was now in hearing distance. He also noticed the little boy sitting on Richard's lap, listening to the older man as he read to him.

"Dad, what are you doing?" Lorelai asked.

"I'm reading my grandson a book," Richard asked.

Lorelai looked at the cover of the book and sighed. "Dad, why are you reading my four month old sonShakespeare?"

"Shakespeare was one of the greatest authors of all time Lorelai."

"Well, to a baby, Dr. Seuss is a genius."

"Are you seriously comparing _Macbeth_ to _Cat in the Hat?_"

"He's a baby Dad. He's not going to understand what you're saying."

"Of course he does."

"Luke, help me out here."

"Actually, your dad's right," Luke remarked. "His brain is absorbing the information we give him. Reading to Will would benefit him later on in life."

"You read that in your daddy manual?" Jess teased.

"Shut up. And…yes."

"What's that thing called? Daddy for Dummies?"

"I said shut up Jess."

"They have a kid?" Christopher asked Rory.

"Yup. His name is Lucas William, but we call him Will. He's four and a half months old and is a spitting image of his daddy."

"Your grandparents like Luke?"

"They love him. Grandpa says if he had a son, he would have wanted him to turn out like Luke," Rory informed. "They're happy together- Mom and Luke. He loves her and she loves him. And they love me and Will more than anything in the world."

"Why are you telling me this? Why are you _showing_ me this?"

"Mom's worked so hard for the whole package and she has it. Luke was the one to give it to her, not you. You tried to stop this from happening that day. I wanted you to see what you could have ruined- a happy family. This needs to be your closure once and for all."

Christopher watched as Luke took Will from Richard and kissed the little boy's cheek before sitting down next to Lorelai. He put his arm around her and she leaned forward to kiss her husband. They smiled at each other before turning their attention to baby Will who had everyone smiling with his own bright smile and giggles. Rory left Christopher to join her family. He watched as she sat next to Lorelai and played with her baby brother. That was all the closure he needed.

* * *

At the end of the night, Rory walked onto the stage and took the microphone. "Ok everyone, I just want to thank you all for being here to celebrate with me tonight," she said. "This town has watched me grow from a little girl aspiring to go to Harvard and become a journalist to who I am today. You were there when I graduated from Chilton, started Yale, and now, graduating from Yale. I want to thank everyone for the love and support you've given me over the years, especially my grandparents, Luke, and most of all, my mom. So, as I stand before you today, you ask yourselves, 'What's next for Rory Gilmore?' Well, I'll tell you." She paused for a long time as she looked out at the crowd. "I'm getting married."

* * *

**_Next time on "Meet Me at the Chuppah":_** **_The next chapter will be the last. I haven't decided how to end it yet, but I assure you, it'll be good. I hope. Don't worry, there WILL be a sequel._**

**A/N: Ok, everyone's been asking me about what I meant by Scott leaving the show in my A/N of _The Broken Road (Chapter 8)_. Here's the shimmy. Scott's contract ends at the end of season six. They're working on the details or whatnot of his contract for season seven. I'm sorry if I scared anyone. He'll be back. He knews he wants to. Now, who thinks the proposal scene sounds familiar? Anyone know where it's from? While you think about that, I'm gonna go eat a gallon of ice cream because I just watched another season finale last night (_Smallville_) and I'm angry about the way they ended it. They're killing me with these finales! They ended _Everybody Loves Raymond _(they ended the series! Why!) on Monday, _Gilmore Girls_ on Tuesday, _Smallville_ yesterday, and _The OC_ tonight. Jamoca Almond Fudge, here I come.**


	40. Through the years

**Disclaimer: I still don't own _Gilmore Girls, _although, I wish I owned Luke and Jess.**

**A/N: The final chapter (pauses until the crying ceases. Lol.) will be a series of small stories (titles will be in italics at the beginning of each story) spanning over the next few years and told in different characters' POVs. If that makes any sense at all, God bless you. Lol. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 40**

_The Article_

I decided what I was going to be a long time ago. When the other kids said they'd be doctors, police officers, fire fighters, and space explorers, I aspired to be a journalist. I always had a hunger for reading. I wanted to be a part of the adventures described in those books and being a journalist was the best way to do so I could come up with. Everyone in my life supported me. From the eccentric people of Stars Hollow to the guys in the Yale newsroom. But of all my supporters, there are two people that I owe most of my success to. They supported me more than anyone else. More than my grandparents, more than my friends, and even more than my husband. The two people I owe it all to are none other than my parents, Luke and Lorelai Danes. I know it sounds cliché, but it's the truth.

Lorelai Danes is more than my mother and namesake. She's my best friend. No matter what was going on in her life or where she was, she was always there when I needed her. She felt she needed to build a kind of mother-daughter relationship that was for the books because of her relationship with her own mother. For many years, Lorelai and her mother Emily Gilmore's relationship was more like tyrant and peasant than the buddy-buddy relationship I had with mom. Emily Gilmore was raised by old money in high society and tried to pass on that lifestyle to her daughter. That didn't sit too well with Lorelai. Lorelai wanted to decide what she wanted to do with her life. She wanted freedom. So when she was sixteen, she took it. She packed her bags- and me- and set out for a new life.

The only lives Lorelai ever saved were mine when I got myself into a bind I couldn't get myself out of and her husband's by falling in love with him. She couldn't play sports if her life depended on it. Her life ambition was to be a part of The Bangles, but she wasn't that much of a musician. You may not see her face on TV, hear her voice on the radio, or see her name in the paper often. She's a hard worker, a provider, a mother. She made boo-boos disappear with a kiss and scared away the monsters under my bed.

One minute I was her little girl and then she blinked and I was grown. The morning of my wedding, as she helped me with my wedding dress, she told me I was her life ambition. She started to cry. She said she wasn't crying because she was going to miss me, that they were tears of joy. Seeing her oldest daughter all grown up and moving on made her so proud it made her cry. When I walked down at the aisle, I spotted her and I gave her a smile that told her that everything was going to be ok. A smile that told her she gave me wings to leave the nest. She said in fifty years, when she and Dad were in a nursing home, I'd be her hero for coming by to take care of them. But until then, I give my mother a smile that lets her know that she's somebody's hero- mine.

If you knew Luke Danes ten years ago, you'd probably think I was crazy for saying he's the kindest, most gentle, loving man I know. Luke Danes was, is, and probably always will be a grumpy, bitter, ill-tempered, and- quite frankly- scary guy. That is, to the rest of the world. He hides his emotions from everyone but his family. He's the kind of man that would threaten to beat someone up for complaining about not having their eggs cooked at an insanely precise heat (cough, Kirk, cough) and be agitated the rest of the day, then go home to his family, laugh, smile, play games and read to his kids, and spent the rest of the night telling his wife how much he loves her. He's the kind of man that would do things for you he didn't have to. The kind of man that would feed you mashed potatoes when you have the chicken pox, read you a bed time story when you can't sleep and Mommy's still working, make you a coffee cake for your sixteenth birthday, go to your high school graduation when your biological father can't make it. He's the kind of man to build you a chuppah for your wedding even if you're not Jewish, but just because you asked him to.

He didn't have to do those things, but he did because he wanted to. He did them to make me happy, to see me smile, but more importantly, to show how much he cared. Luke knew what it was like to grow up without a parent. It was hard growing up without his mother since he was eight and he didn't want to see me struggle with the pain like he did. So he was there. When Mom and I met Luke, we went from something's missing to a family.

I asked him to walk me down the aisle, along with my biological father Christopher Hayden, on my wedding day and he happily obliged. Five minutes before the walked me down the aisle, he was sitting in a chair with his head between his knees, hyperventilating. He was more nervous than I was! And it was a reassuring feeling. I put my hand on his back and he looked up at me. I told him everything would be ok and flashed him my famous smile. Suddenly, he was fine. It's my belief that this world needs more men like Lucas Danes Sr. They need more men to stand up and do the right thing- to go above and beyond the call of duty. Luke didn't have to be there. He didn't have to raise me. He didn't have to care. And yet, he was and he did. He did a job that wasn't his. He was a man he didn't have to be and I couldn't ask for more.

"So?" I asked, breaking the silence that's fallen upon us since I handed them the article. "What do you think?"

"It's beautiful," Mom replied. I could hear the tears she was holding back in her voice.

"Dad? Do you like it?" I turn to Luke. He sat back in his chair and is covering his mouth with his hand as he rereads the article.

"Words can't describe what I feel right now," he manages to get out. "Thank you." Luke smiled and got out of his seat. "This is going up on the Rory Wall."

"Dad don't. Mom, please stop him."

"This is your first article. It has to go on the wall," Mom insisted.

"That wall is creepy. It's like a shrine for some wacko cult you two started."

"We're proud of you," Luke defended. "I'm just displaying my daughter's accomplishments so that when I'm old, I can look back and tell the world how great you are."

It's no use. He's going to do it whether I like it or not and there's nothing I can do to stop the insanity. Once I got past the weird, uncomfortable feeling, I actually felt honored. The fact that they would do something as creepy as make a Rory Wall lets me know how much they really do care. Who would have known that my first published article in a real newspaper for all the world to see would be about my parents? Ok. Maybe I did.

* * *

_Sundays_

There's something about Sundays that changes people. On Sundays, the people of this insane town actually act normal. Normal in this town isn't calling a stupid town meeting to discuss the fact that Mr. Johnson's dog peed on Taylor's lawn again. Normal is not seeing Kirk run down the street naked, screaming at the top of his lungs because of a nightmare he had. Normal is…not this town. But on Sunday, they are normal. I've been going to Sunday service at the local church for quite a while now. I managed to drag Luke and Lorelai with me too. Luke's never been the church-going type, but my grandparents were so he went. He even had Will baptized in the church he- every Danes for that matter- was baptized in.

Today is the first Sunday in years I spend without Luke and Lorelai. As I searched my soul for what I wanted to do with my life, I happened to find someone. Her name is Joan. She's Dean's wife's cousin. I met her last year at Rory's anniversary party. We're getting married in a few months and we moved into my new house. Upon my graduation from Hartford Community College earlier this year, Richard Gilmore gave me a more than generous gift. He gave me the deed to my grandparents' house. I later found out that Luke had struck a bargain with the Gilmores. He and Lorelai would continue to come to Friday night dinner and occasionally host the event if Richard gave me the house.

It'll be the little things that I'll miss the most. I've become accustomed to going to work and coming home to them. I'll miss coming home after a long day at the paper or the diner and walking in on Luke and Lorelai on the couch watching TV. They'd hear me trying to sneak upstairs and ask me how my day was and if I wanted something to eat. I'll even miss the nauseating glances they share at breakfast and dinner. I'll miss playing with my cousin and smuggling him a cookie before dinner. But most of all, I'll miss Luke. For a very long time, he was the one person I could trust.

I contemplated not moving out. Luke and Lorelai would have been more than happy to let Joan and I live with them. That way, I didn't have to miss out on the little things. It could be just like it's been for the past four and a half years. I live with Luke and Lorelai, they keep me out of trouble. I planned to tell Luke I wasn't going to move out for a while longer after church one Sunday, when he suddenly decided to take me fishing.

It was a cool, beautiful Sunday when we set out into the lake in the boat Luke built half of. He only took the boat out onto the lake a handful of times after he finished itThe first was when he finally finished the thing. He packed a picnic lunch, put Caesar in charge of the diner, and took Lorelai, Will, Rory, and me out for an afternoon at sea, er…lake, for quality family time and fishing. I joked around with him about joining the redneck yacht club. And today, here I am again, in a boat with Luke, fishing in the boat my grandfather started and the only true father figure in my life finished.

"It's a good thing you're doing," he said suddenly as he cast out his line.

"What's a good thing?" I asked. I never know what he's talking about.

"You moving out."

"Gee Uncle Luke. Nice to know you'll miss me."

"I didn't mean it like that. I was trying to say that it's good because you'll get to grow. You graduated college, the doctor said you'll be going into remission with the way things are going, you have a beautiful fiancée, and you're settling down. It's a good thing what you're doing. I'm proud of you." He was proud of me. No one had ever been proud of me before. "We'll miss you around the house though."

His voice was getting shaky. Man, this must be really hard for him. "I'll only be a few blocks away and we'll see each other every day."

"I know. It's just Richard and Emily are in Europe, your mom and T.J. are moving back to New York, Max and Rachel are getting settled into the married life, and Rory's been traveling more lately. It's gonna get lonely at home."

"You still got Lorelai and the kids."

"I know. It won't be the same though." Luke lowered his head. "Don't be a stranger ok?"

I was completely confused. He wanted me to stay, he wanted me to go. I wish I knew what he wanted. I'll stay if he says he wants me to stay. I'll go if he wants me to go. I'm frustrated now. I turn to yell at him and demand an answer. But when I saw him, his head, I got my answer. He wanted me to stay, but at the same time he wanted me to go. It was complicated, but I understood. He was going to miss me, but he wanted me to have what he has with Lorelai- the whole package. I wasn't going to have the package until I moved out.

"Yeah. I'll visit a lot, but not too much." He reached over and patted my shoulder without looking up once. He didn't want me to see him like this- vulnerable. He may not know it, but seeing him like this only makes me think he's stronger. I turned back to the lake and cast out again. Who ever said grown men don't cry?

* * *

_Perfect_

As a little girl, I often wondered what "perfect" was because I was definitely not going to find it in Richard and Emily Gilmore's home. When I was three, I had my first cup of coffee and I thought where ever this stuff came from was perfect. At six, I thought it was having a lot of dolls with pretty dresses that I was actually allowed to play with. When I was ten, it was- ironically- Yale. At fourteen, anywhere but the Gilmore house. At sixteen, Rory. At thirty-six, marrying Luke. Thirty-seven, baby Will. And thirty-nine, Emily Mia aka Emma.

It's this in front of me. A beautiful Sunday morning as I walk onto my porch. The warm sun hitting my face. I head to the porch swing just in time to dodge my two children who come running out of the house screaming. The fact that they're still in their church clothes doesn't stop them from chasing each other on the front lawn. I watch as four year old Will chases two year old Emma around.

"Will, play nice with Emma," I call out to my son.

He nods, but doesn't stop running. I'm about to jump out of my seat and run ti the lawn when Emma trips and falls.

"Help her up son," Luke tells Will.

The chubby little boy helps his sister up and checks of boo-boos. When he sees that all is fine, they resume their running. "Seems we have a little Butch in training," I tease Luke as he heads my way with two cups.

"Ah jeez," he groans. He sits next to me and hands me one of the cups. I inhale the sweet scent of the coffee. "Do you have to do that?"

"I just love the smell of your coffee."

"I'll remember that for our next anniversary. I'll get you coffee scented perfume."

I laugh and he puts his arm around me. "Want a sip of my coffee?"

"Want a carrot?"

"Why would you ask me that?"

"I don't know. Why would you ask me if I want coffee?"

"Touché."

I curl up next to him and drink my coffee. We sit in silence drinking our respective drinks and Luke reads his paper. This has become our Sunday routine. After church, Luke and I will sit on the porch swing, drink coffee/tea, and read the paper while Jess, Will, and Emma play. Then Rory and Logan come over with our one year old granddaughter, Lorelai aka Lori. But the routine has changed a little. Jess isn't here to play with the kids and Rory, Logan, and Lori are in Boston because of work.

"This is nice," Luke says.

"What is?" I ask.

"This. Us sitting on the porch, relaxing and enjoying the day as we watch the kids play with each other on the lawn. It's nice."

"How 'All American' of you. All you need to do now is put up the flag."

"I'm trying to tell you how much I love doing this."

"We're sitting on the porch, drinking coffee and tea, reading the paper, and watching Will and Emma play. We do it every Sunday."

"I know. I'm just saying…never mind. Forget it." He lets out an exasperated sigh and goes back to his paper.

I don't get it. We do this every Sunday. He's never said how nice it was before and now he does. What's so special about it now? I focus on my children. Will and Emma are holding hands as they pick flowers from the ground. When they're done, they walk up the steps and over to us.

"We picked these for you Mommy," Will says as he holds out a fist full of flowers.

"Aw, thank you honey," I smile. I give my kids a big hug. "I'll put these in a vase and they'll go on the table."

"Daddy like flowers?" Emma asks as she places three flowers on Luke's lap.

Luke folds his paper and puts it on the table next to him. "I love them my little cupcake," he states. "But not as much as I love you." He places a kiss on Emma's forehead.

Will and Emma bolt off the porch and go back to chasing each other on the lawn. I look at the flowers Will gave me, then turn to Luke. He's gone back to reading the paper.

"Hey Luke," I call.

"Yeah?" he asks.

I smile. "This is nice."

"You read my mind," he smiles. He kisses me gingerly on the lips.

I snuggle up beside my husband, getting naturally situated under his arm, close my eyes, and smile. Now this is perfect.

* * *

**A/N:Wow. I can't believe it's finally over. And it _only _took me forty chapters. Lol. Believe it or not, this is the _third_ longest story I've written. I wrote one that was 63 (long) chapters, some of which were cut into parts. And there's another that's on chapter 53 or 54. Can't remember. Hahaha. But yeah. I want to thank everyone that's stuck with this story and for the great reviews everyone left. I really appreciate the support and praise. For those who will be looking for a sequel, it's gonna be called _Breakaway_. It's not what you'll expect. Some things will be heart breaking to read. Anyway, I hope you've enjoyed reading this fic as much as I enjoyed writing it. Until next time and in the words of my good friend Tom: be safe, stay smart, and keep off the grass. Lol. Thank you and goodnight!**


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